The Holidays are Coming. Let's Share Peace and Goodwill Throughout the World!

[Gail Norusis]

#21812

Hi Everyone. We just shared a month of introspection and thankfulness. Now it’s time to partey! This month besides sharing our everyday occurrences lets see if we can share family or cultural or regional holiday traditions. In our family we always open Christmas gifts one by one starting with the youngest and then going up the line by age. How is it that as a child I was at the beginning of the line and now I am at the end? Anyway, I am wishing everyone a holiday season filled with the things that make them smile.

[Gail Norusis]

#21820

Hi Adele,
I hope that I am not being a bad influence on you and leading you down the path of a Christmas Quacker addiction. I think I have that same pink snowman sweater. Some of her early sweaters were really made of heavy knit and though I rarely wear them anymore they are almost like little pieces of art to me.
My tastes have changed over time too and it seems like it is no longer in fashion to “collect” things like it was in the late eighties and the nineties. I had a doll collection and except for a few pieces that I still love from my wizard of oz collection and a Polish and a Lithuanian ethnic dolls I tried to sell the rest at Jenny’s garage sale and you couldn’t give the darn things away. I also had a lot of Boyd’s Bears figurines that I just packed up-no one wants this stuff anymore and it really has no monetary value.
Brent had said that he would be home around the 18th and I haven’t heard anything different since then. He seems to have come through the anniversaries better this year so as time marches on hopefully everything will get easier for him.
Somehow I can’t believe that I have never seen the Nutcracker live either. I have seen movies and TV but not a live performance. That is going on my to do list.
Poor Jhonny-the guy just starts a new job after being unemployed and he has to shell out for new tires. Just what he doesn’t need. I will pray that he gets a permanent position. I’m so glad he is working again as I know we all want to give our kids a happy Christmas and that does include some gifts from Santa.
Every time I saw that Holiday Baking show advertised it made me think of you as it sounds so up your alley. I recorded it last night but haven’t watched it yet. I have a feeling it will make me crave all those baked goodies which are my downfall anyway. Love home baked cookies, cakes and pies. i have an overdeveloped sweet tooth-if only my brain were as big as my sweet tooth I could be a member of Mensa!
Hope everyone finds me over here at the new page.
Gail

[adele shanbar]

#21837

Hi Gail.
Well. The black sweater with the tree is already sold, as well as 2 other shirts. All the ones I am selling are a size too small…..LOL LOL LOL I have one more closet’s boxes in the dining room to get out the decorations, and purge the Annalee’s in them. One more closet to go, after this one! I sold some Boyd’s Bears on Ebay last year. all the collectables go like crazy, especially if they are on pristine condition, which I am sure yours are. It us fun- you should try it. I get the biggest kick out of it. It is a yard sale on-line.

I have gone to only Lenox (cookie jars, Peanuts, etc) and Annalee’s for Christmas decorations. Hence, the purging. Plus, I have so many Annalees, I need to let some go, as I am trying to make decorating a little easier for me.

I went for a quick haircut this morning, because I am afraid it will get icy and snowy very soon. I hope it does not get slippery on Thursday, as I am meeting Nancy at Sue’s house for lunch, and a craft.

17 more days until Brent is back, safe and sound!

I recorded the baking show, because I wanted to watch the new comedy on the “big box store”. It did make me laugh. I love a couple of the actors in it- America is in it, and I love her.
Hope you are decorating your little heart out.
Adele

[Colleen]

#21849

Hi Adele, Gail and Barbara,
We went to Melissa’s yesterday and did not get home until Midnight. It is sad because I was so tired that I could not get on here to do anything. I tried to read a few things and kept falling asleep. That is terrible that it wore me out that much.
Well we got bad news. My sil has to go to Korea. It will be after the new year but not sure when. He will be gone for 9 months. That is too long for a man or woman to be away from their family. They have not told that kids yet will wait until closer to time for him to go.That is just so sad. I guess that is part of the job when you take it you know this. I pray to God that all these guys will be safe.
It would be nice if we could have the kids on both days. That will never happen though. They have too far to drive and then be back home for Santa. Wish we could just make them all move closer to us and not have to worry about them being so far away. My kids need to stay close to their mom and not move off. lol I just cannot get them to see it that way.
When of my memories of when we were kids every Christmas Santa would put the tree up when he delivered the gifts. My mom and dad would pick out the tree and it would be decorated when we got up in the morning. They did that until we all stopped believing in Santa. I cannot imagine how they got the tree in the house and put up without us knowing it. They did though and did so every year.
I love the pictures that you posted Gail. They are so pretty. Thanks for starting a new discussion page. It would take to long to scroll down to post anything. It is good that we are notified when someone posts are we would never find it. Do not forget to check the box to be notified when someone replies. We have to do that every time we changed discussions. I get everyone’s except Barbara. I will have to find out why.
Did everyone put their name in the drawing for the wreath they are giving away on quacker? It is down at the bottom of the page where they show things that Angel and Patrick have posted on face book. I do not know if everyone knows that are not probably do. It just takes me forever to figure it all out. You only have until December 9th to sign up to win it. I put my name in.
Barbara I hope that you have a good dinner with your family. It is nice that you found a day that everyone was able to come. It is hard when everyone works at jobs that your boys and dil do. They have to work holidays and that is hard. I am glad that Jerry got to see his mom. Sad that she wants to go home but her son will not let her. If it was my mom she would call a cab while everyone was at work and go home. She is stubborn. Jerry’s mom may do that if she decides that she is going home. That is mean to not let her go home. They could have people there most of the time to watch over and the police could patrol the area more.
Well that is about all from here. Have a great night.
Colleen

[Gail Norusis]

#21856

Hi Colleen,
I’m so sorry to hear that Stephan will be going overseas again. Wasn’t he in Afghanistan before? Hopefully going to Korea will be more peaceful. Is this considered a deployment or could his family go with while he is stationed there? I imagine the wives at the Fort that they are at now all kind of ban together and help each other out when their husbands are gone. Hopefully there’s a strong support system there. Last time Kaylee was a baby-this time she will miss her Dad more. Maybe they will come and stay with you more while he is gone and you and Ron can help Melissa with the kids. Of course they can’t do it during school time but maybe during the summer. I will pray that he is safe.
I guess we are all lucky to have our children fairly close by. I think of my parents being in Louisiana and having kids in Illinois, Indiana and Colorado-or Greg’s parents having one child in Chicago-one a couple of hours away and one in Minnesota and one in Virginia. Now those are much tougher situations than them being just a few hours away. Many families are so far flung that I guess we are lucky to have ours as close as we do.
Your poor parents must have been exhausted after putting up the tree and getting all the gifts under it the night before Christmas.
Another thing i remember doing as a kid was it was my job to place the nativity scene under the tree and set up the manger and Mary and Joseph and Jesus and the shepherds, kings and animals. I always loved entering that magic little world of the nativity. I actually still have that set that was my parents that was a dime store find from when they were first married. The manger is still original and some of the figures are too so they are close to 75 years old by now. I used to actually use that set but then decided they were getting too fragile so I bought my own new set several years back. But I still have the old one and I treasure it just because it belonged to my parents.
I’m glad that you like the pictures for the beginning of the new discussion. Since they have to be posted as an attachment one is just too small-so i discovered if i post six together it’s like one big picture like we used to be able to post. I still wish that we could copy and paste like we could on the old site.
Thanks for telling me about the wreath contest. For some reason i thought that was part of that basket contest so I would not have entered being already signed up for the basket contest.
I’m sorry you were so tired after your trip to Melissa’s. Maybe you are still tired from Thanksgiving and having the hip shot. How is the back brace going? Does it seem to help? Now if only we could get your stomach fixed you would be like a new woman. Singing and dancing in the streets and keeping Ron on his toes. Today I prescribe that you take a nice afternoon nap. Doctor Granny Gail’s orders. lol
Gail

[Gail Norusis]

#21858

Hi Adele,
I’m surprised that people are still buying the collectibles. It must be the older generation as it seems to me like none of the people Jenny’s age collect anything. Plus it seems like there aren’t nearly as many collectibles out there any more as there used to be. Years ago the shopping channels had hours of the different collectibles but they no longer have that either.
I have not started decorating yet. Will probably start this weekend. Jenny is all done. She is so efficient. Of course she probably doesn’t have as much stuff as i do either. Having Passion their Elf on the Shelf back helps keep those grandkids in line too. those poor tired parents one of them has to remember to move that elf every night before they fall asleep. Remember when your kids were little and you thought you’d never get a good nights sleep again-and now we are older with no little kids and we suffer from insomnia. lol
We woke up this morning to a beautiful Christmas like snowfall. When I look out the window it really looks like a Christmas card with the snow laying on the pines that are all around here. Now if only I could get a picture of a cardinal sitting in a tree instead of bashing himself against the back window. lol
So Adele, what kind of Christmas treats do you traditionally bake for Christmas. I’m already imagining the luscious smells emanating from your holiday kitchen.
Gail

[adele shanbar]

#21862

Hi Colleen
We will all be praying for your SIL. Please correct me, if I am wrong, but, I do not think they are having any active terrorists or fighting in Korea right now. At least if I am right, that would be the good part. being away from his family, is the bad part. The lives of the servicemen, and their families take such a toll when they are deployed. I hope your daughter has some good friends ,and neighbors to keep them company, and assist if they need anything.
I hope some of your kids will move closer to home. It is so stressful for you to travel so far to see them, and I know how much you miss them all.
I am glad you got to spend some time with Melissa. But home at midnight is way too late for us. Of course you were exhausted! We are like Cinderella. We turn into pumpkins way before midnight.
You have some very nice Christmas memories your parents gave you, and your siblings. Those are priceless. I love to hear everyone’s family stories. Each ofour families are so different inhow we celebrated the holidays.
HAs anyone heard from Christine lately?
I entered the latest contest- I thought it was for a basket. I will have to look again.
It is raining here today.
Adele

[adele shanbar]

#21866

Hi Gail
That poor bird. I cannot believe he is still at it. I swear he has brain damage by now, and that is why he is still doing it.
So far, 5 of my Quacker shirts have sold. I have only 2 more to sell, and 3 Liz Claiborne ones. I find this so very amusing. It is as if I have a little store. I only have 2 Annalee’s I can part with so far. I took a break form decorating, as my back was getting real sore. I still have the one closet, and then Bobby will bring up the 2 bins that have bigger Annalee;s, and the decorations for the tree. I will be all doen by next week.
OMG….The Chew is having an ugly sweater contest today. So far, I love all of them….LOL You have to watch it- Michael Simone is in a full holiday suit, with hat.
Tomorrow, I am going to meet Nancy and Sue. Sue is doing a craft we are going to help with, and then have lunch together.
So my traditional, do them every year, no matter what, Christmas cookies are: Jelly roll, Lebkuchen, Vienna Bars, a Cranberry melt in our mouth tiny round sugar cookie, and then I add one or 2 more, depending on the mood of the year. Which ones do you make?
I love your, and Colleen’s Christmas stories. Mine is kind of funny. because Tillie always hated getting up early, and because the German’s do their presents on Christmas Eve. my Uncle pretended to be Santa, while my Dad hid in the bedroom with me, making me pretend to be asleep, so Santa would bring the presents, which of course, he did. It was years before the excitement of Christmas and Santa coming, would hide the fact that Santa sounded a lot like Uncle Sammy. I have a vague memory of thinking….”what are they all nuts- that is Uncle Sammy’s voice”. I still kept up the ruse, because God forbid the presents would not be left.
Here is a not so funny holiday story. My Dad was the absolute worst person for surprises. He could not wait to show you something, he just had to show you right away. So, Tillie used to go to her friend’s house once a week to play cards. This was back in the day when they all smoked. So, here was my Dad, with her, sitting in front of the closet, while he showed me all the outfits for my “Teenage Doll”….before she became Barbie- she was a lot bigger. Tillie came back to get her cigarettes, and I remember thinking she was going to kill him this time. I remember the look of horror on his face, at being discovered, and how mad my Mom was.
the next year, me and my Dad were waiting and waiting for a package to come from Germany. My Oma was sending me a new doll carriage and it never came, or so we thought. My mother hid the package from both of us, and that was the only time I had a surprise for Christmas…because my Dad did not know it arrived…..LOL LOL He was the best Dad, a partner in crime, had the best sense of humor you could ever see, and I know how very lucky I was to have had him for 38 years. I miss him terribly.
Ok…enough for now, before I start to cry…..
Adele

[Anonymous]

#21870

In light of todays shooting in California I do not think people are totally safe anywhere. I do not want anyone hurt or killed but I think Colleen’s SIL would be safer in Korea than in the US. I know it is very difficult for family left behind but they can Skype and see and talk to each other that way. In the past they did not have such things to stay in touch. Just my 2 cents for what it is worth.

[adele shanbar]

#21872

Hi Sue.
Well said. I am sure we all agree with you, those that post, and those who do not.
I am very happy to hear from you, even on a difficult day like today. I hope you keep adding to our conversations.
We are not safe anywhere, you are so right. What a coward to attack a center for disabled people. What kind of monster does that?
Praying for all those people who are still living, and for the families of the people left behind, who were not as fortunate. Either way, none of them will ever be the same again.
God help all of us, and protect the people who lay their lives on the line every day, to make sure we are safe.
Adele

[Barbara Smith]

#21875

Hello my good Quacker buddies! First, let me say to Colleen, I do know how you feel with family being sent to Korea, since our oldest son has been on two tours of duty there. He was based there for a total of about 4 years altogether; and although I really missed him and of course worried; he told me that he had no problems while there. In fact; he told me that he really saw some beautiful things there. So; even though I know there is no way you can not worry and miss someone you love; I hope this will comfort you a little. On another note; Jerry talked to his Mom. She is SO ready to go to her own home and is asking Jerry to come and get her. He tried to call his brother later; but no answer. So he said he is going to go by and see them. I hope this goes okay. I know she wants to be in her own home where all her things are; and her little doggie is in his own home too. I know Jerry is going to talk to his brother about taking her home and them all paying to have home health come in around the clock. There is a few nephews (we don’t even have girl nieces in this family; let alone any daughters close by) but they could live with her and be there at night if she needed help. I just know there is a solution; if they will just get their minds out of her poor little money and start thinking about their mothers welfare. Adele; unfortunately you did hit the nail on the head when you said money is the driving force in this triangle of brothers. Jerry is the only one who does not want any of her money; its hers and should be used for her and by her. Okay; I will get off my soapbox now.
I am so glad your husband is okay, Adele. Don’t they just scare the life out of us at times? It seems all of us have had our lives pass before our eyes with our husbands. I remember I was having a staff meeting when I got the call from Jerry partner that he had fallen those 15 feet out of that truck onto the interstate, and broken his back, and he was crying and hysterical and I couldn’t tell how bad it was or even if he was still alive; because the man didnt know. I was so scared. He was out of town on a run; and I couldn’t get in touch with anyone. Thank goodness with me working at a Trauma Center; I was able to contact the one that they took Jerry to; and finally get flown to him. What a horrible time. But thank God we lived to tell about it. I remember when we finally got flown back to home and into our Trauma center; just looking around the room one night at all of his relatives who were just yucking it up about some stupid thing that had happened to one of them at work that day; and I looked down at my husband, broken back, IV’s everywere; braced, tube down his nose, tube down his thoat; well, you get the picture; and thinking, God help me, please don’t let me be left with these people, please don’t take my husband. They don’t have a clue or they don’t really care about how serious this is. I must be mundane tonight. Here I am trying to comfort you and I don’t think its working with one of my Smith stories LOL
On to a holiday story. Ha Ha The first Christmas Jerry and I were married I was so excited. We had very little money; but somehow I just knew he would come up with some sweet surprize for me anyway. Well, the big day came, and I couldn’t wait to open the box he so sweetly handed me. It was a pyrex bowl———–I burst out crying, I just couldn’t help it. I had built my hopes up so much I guess and bless his heart, he really thought I wanted this bowl since I had told him so in the store one day. He always; from that Christmas forward; would say, whatever you do, don’t give your MaMa a
bowl and the kids would not understand what he was talking about but we knew. Another story, he waited until the last day to go shop for me and I got a little mad (hard to believe I know) ha ha, but he says to me; well, you just go pick you out whatever you want and just say it is my present to you. Now this is so unlike me, but since I was so agrivated; I went and ended up in a jewelry store, and bought myself a beautiful cocktail ring that the boys and I picked out for me! We were so excited the next morning when Neal (who was about 5) handed me the box, and said, here is your present from Daddy, and poor Jerry thought it was just some little piece of costume jewelry like I would have normally gotten. But then it dawned on him it was diamonds and rubies, and I wish I had made a picture of his poor face. Believe you me; that was the one and only time Jerry hasn;t been able to go out and find something for me in a timely manner. It really isn;t the cost that coulnts to me; but the principle that year took precedence over the thought of the gift. Must say; it was one of my nicest Christmas’ ever ha ha
Will close for now. I am sure you all are tired of reading all my stories by now. You all mean so much to me. Just love to hear how your lives are going. Adele, do you have a favorite Christmas Butter cookie recipe? I love to watch The Chew too. Take care everyone. By the way, Colleen, how is that back brace going? And Gail, are you still having to wear the boot? Does it help? You know, it is so funny you say how hard it is for you being short. I am 5 feet 8 inches, and I always hunched over; because it seemed to me in high school that only the short girls got the cute guys. But I can reach something on a tall shelf. Speaking of that I got a ceiling fan blade cleaning spell the other day and went all through the house. Now if I could just move past that and on to all the other things I need to be doing. Hugs, Barbara

[Colleen]

#21878

Hi Gail,
He has been to Afghanistan. He was there for a year. He could go back there again we just have to wait and see where they send him. They have some problems in Korea they do have to be careful. It is not as bad as some of the other countries but it is not safe. I will worry about him no matter where he goes. The family cannot go with him since Korea is still considered not safe. They do have some flare ups there and they do not want families there. I do not think that any of those countries would be safe for the families of the military right now. I just hope all of that changes soon. Kaylee was a baby when her dad went over seas last time. It will be hard on her this time she is a daddy’s girl. They will Skype though so he can see her. They only go for 9 months now. Then they will have to leave Ft. Leonard Wood when he gets back. Melissa does not know as many people as she did before. A lot of the people that they knew were transferred. To another base. We will probably spend more time there and she will spend time here. She can stay with us and with her sisters. She has really been getting into doing crafts and she is really good at it. So that will keep her busy while he is gone. One bad thing is while he is gone Kaylee will have to go to school. So Melissa will be home by herself all day. So maybe doing all of her crafts will keep her busy. She is making a snowman out of her old Christmas tree. It is really cute. She only has the top of the snowman to finish. She sent me a picture of it. It is really cute. One good thing she can keep that up for a little longer during the winter. A snow man can almost stay up all winter.
My dad was the one that liked to do it that way. So my mom just went along with him. I do not know how they did it myself. We never heard them putting it up or anything. One year my dad was in the kitchen eating the cookies and drinking the milk we left out for Santa and we heard him. He heard us get up and he had to hide so we would not see him. It is fun thinking back on all those old memories.
I was reading it the other day and they said that the drawing will be on the 9th of this month. That is how I found out it was separate. Glad that you found it and could sign up for it. They will also have the last drawing for the prize of the month. I think that this one will be money. I am not sure. That would be nice to have. My luck is not to win anything but be happy for the one that won. lol I am not lucky at a drawing.
The back brace does help but I do not wear it if I am sitting down. You just wear it when you are up and doing things. So that is a pain taking it on and off,. I have to go back to the doctor tomorrow so he can check my hip will not wear it then. It will be a pain taking it off and the putting it back on. Will wear it when we stop at the store.
Well that is about all from here. Have a good night.
Colleen

[Colleen]

#21880

Hi Adele,
It will not be safe for the soldiers no matter where they go. Their families cannot go with them because it is still considered a war zone. Or what ever they call it. So they will stay at the base or with us sometimes. We will go up there to see her more so they do not get lonely in the winter time.
I heard from Christine today. She is doing okay just having trouble with her foot. She was making soup to freeze. She is really good at making soup. She is just a good cook. She is really having trouble with her foot. I wish they would do something for her foot so she would not have all that pain. Other then that she is doing fine. It would be nice if she could come here this fall but am not sure that they can.
Maybe they are having another drawing that I do not know about. I will have to look and see. They will have the regular drawing for the month like they always have this is something extra. I wish you luck and Gail and anyone else that is in the drawing. Hope someone we know wins this time. It is fun thinking that we may be the ones to win this month.
You really have had good luck selling your things on E bay. I have never tried to sell anything on there. I am not that good at doing things on the computer. Knowing my luck I would not sell a thing and have to put it all back in the closet. So they pay for the shipping or do you have to? That is one thing that I did not understand. i hope that they pay for it and not you. That could run into some money if you have to pay all the shipping. It is hard enough to have to give up your Quacker clothes. lol
Read what I wrote to Gail I think that I wrote everything in her post. I could not remember asked what and think that I answered your question on here post. I am really losing my mind.
That is a good Christmas story. It is hard when you recognize your uncles voice and have to keep quite about it. We did not have anyone dress up like Santa. They had so much going on that they did not have time. You have some good Christmas stories also. Love to hear what all went on if different peoples homes when they were kids.We all had very different things that happened. They are all fun though. That is so funny that your dad would show you your presents before you got them. He could not keep a secret.
Well that is about all from here. Have a good night.
Colleen

[Colleen]

#21882

Hi Sue,
Glad that you came on to chat for awhile. It is not safe anywhere anymore. It is so sad. I just hope that this will end soon and we can feel safe again. We need stronger troops and a government that will stand behind them. I feel sorry for all the soldiers that have to fight anywhere. It is sad.
It is really hard on the kids. They do not want to talk to their dads on Skype they want to be with them. They want a hug and they cannot get one. The first time he was gone she was a baby but not she is five and it will be really hard on her. Skype is much nicer then the way it was years ago.
That is sad that they decided to go into a place for disabled. They had not right to shoot people that cannot defend themselves. Terrorists are such cowards. They do not fight with people that can fight back they go after weak defenseless people.
Hope that you come and chat with us again. We like hearing from you.
Colleen

[Colleen]

#21884

Hi Barbara,
My husband was stationed in Korea when he was in the service. When they got drafted they had them stand in a line and they went down the line and told them where they would go. He got picked for Korea. We were just glad when he got home. Ron said that he thought Korea was a beautiful country. He said that he would never want to go back but while he was there it was nice. They have some beautiful places there.
That would be a lot better for her to go home and stay there. They can get home health and they will watch out for her. If they want her money so bad I am sure they can figure out a way to get it and her still be at home. It is funny that she told Jerry that she wanted to go home. She must know that he would be the one to tell. It is funny how our parents even when they go thru something as traumatic know which one of us kinds will fight to get them home again. She knows that Jerry is the one that will fight for her.
It was lucky that you worked at a trauma center and could get a hold of the people that were taking care of Jerry. If you do not know who to call it can be rough. They act different to people that work in a hospital the they are to a person that is just calling about a family member. That never was right. Oh well that is just the way it is.
Men have a hard time figuring out that a household appliance or dishes are not a good Christmas gift. Ron makes that mistake every once in a while. I have set him straight. He use to buy me Charlie perfume every year for every occasion. I could not stand that stuff. I would wear it because he bought it for me. Then finally they came out with a sent that was so bad the kids used it as room spray. I cannot remember the name of it but it came in a green bottle. Finally I had to tell him. Please stop buying Charlie. I have enough. I do not think that I ever told him that I did not like it.
Good for you buying the cocktail ring. It sounds really pretty. I bet that he started to buy you better things then a Pyrex bowl after that. He learned it is better to buy you something that you want and not something for the house. We can get stuff for the house anytime. I got a vacuum cleaner for my birthday this year. Not happy at all.
Well that is about all from here. Have a good night.
Colleen

[Gail Norusis]

#21887

Hi Adele,
I did like Michael’s suit today. He even had on green shoes, I noticed. I am always sad when i see Quacker clothes on Ebay marked as “ugly’ sweaters. But I guess many would view them that way even though i think of them as little treasures. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
What kind of craft will you guys be making? That sounds like a fun day. I’m thinking that a resolution for 2016 needs to be getting off my butt and making some new friends. None of my old friends are around anymore.
I’m not sure that I know what Vienna bars or luebchen cookies are(I know I spelled that wrong). I must admit that I have not baked cookies for the last several years but when i did make them my staples were a butter cookie, chocolate chip, those peanut butter with the hershey kisses, and an almond crescent which was really a pecan crescent(my absolute favorite-i could eat them all myself),a cheesecake bar cookie and a raspberry bar cookie. I absolutely love love love homemade cookies. A couple years ago I made some pretzel things that you melt a rollo in the middle of. those were fun and would be good to make with grandkids. Now I’m wondering where my recipe for that is. For someone who doesn’t like to cook much anymore i sure have a great cookbook library although i must admit my go to place anymore is my Taste of Home cookbooks-they are the best-no fancy ingredients or techniques-just plain old home cooking.
That is so funny that your dad could never keep a surprise secret. I would imagine that it drove Tillie crazy.
As a kid we opened gifts from our parents on Christmas Eve before we went to Midnight Mass. After Mass we came home and ate if you can believe it! Polish sausage and home made horseradish and rye bread. Then we would go to bed and in the morning a truckload of relatives would come over and we would open whatever gifts that they brought. When we got married we always had to go into the city to Greg’s parents on Christmas Day because Greg’s Mom would get all bent out of shape because it wasn’t the same unless you came on the actual day. So our poor kids would get to open their gifts on Christmas Eve-go to bed and get up and leave all the new stuff behind for a two hour drive into the city. And we went rain snow sleet or hail. One year it was like 20 below and the kids were still babies and I can’t believe I dragged them out in that. It was so cold the car hardly kept warm. I think the only time we didn’t go in was one year when we all had a stomach flu and were throwing up. Greg’s Mom was a lovely woman but that was the one thing i really disliked was having to drag the kids out every Christmas no matter what the circumstances-she sure was unreasonable on that point-but it has made me much more flexible because of that. Anyway, I shall save the story of our Christmas Day celebrations with the relatives when i was a kid for another day.
Gail

[Gail Norusis]

#21907

Hi Barbara,
I hope Colleen finds the news about your son doing some tours of duty in Korea comforting. It sounds like there are much worse places that one could be sent. No one likes being sent away from their family but I guess sometimes that is part of the job when you are in the military. How many years has your Buddy been in now? Do you think he will retire from there after the 25 yeas or whatever it is and then pursue another career or just stay in. I know people that have done both.
I sure hope that Jerry can get things worked out so that his Mom can return to her home. Sometimes family can make things much more complicated than it needs to be. Jerry is just trying to help do what his mother’s wishes are-everyone else seems to have another agenda.
Greg was notorious for being out shopping on Christmas Eve. I think the majority of men are just not planners when it comes to gift giving. One thing he is good at is giving electronic gifts-if i want anything like a computer, camera, Bose system he always gets those because those are the things that he likes to buy. I can’t think of anything funny that he ever got me but I’m sure there was something somewhere along the line.
The whole boot thing is okay-it’s one of those things I can’t change so I have worked out my own system for wearing it. I don’t wear it around the house unless i will be on my feet a lot and I wear it if i will be out somewhere that entails a lot of walking. Other than that I can get along without it and don’t have to wear tennis shoes all the time then. I can wear sandals in summer as long as I am not doing a lot of walking. It’s expensive because in order to wear it I have to buy the same pair of shoes in two different sizes-There is no way I could fit that boot in my normal size 7 shoe-so I have to buy another pair in an 8 and1/2 to accommodate the boot. It is what it is and i have worked out my own system of dealing with it.
That’s funny that you thought the short girls attracted the cute guys. Well my days of attracting cute guys are long gone anyway so I would like to be able to reach things without having to carry a stepstool with me everywhere. I never minded being short when I was younger but now it just seems to be an inconvenience-I wonder if i have shrunk also as it seems to me the kitchen cabinets have gotten higher since we built this house 19 years ago. lol
Gail

[Gail Norusis]

#21917

Hi Colleen,
I’m glad that Melissa has her crafting to keep her busy. That snowman out of a tree sounds really cute. I wish that i could see it. She must be really creative as i think she was also the one sewing the tutus. I’m sure that even once Kaylee starts school she will have plenty of things to do to keep herself busy. And like you said you can visit back and forth a little more then too.
Okay now i am confused. Does the brace go on top of your clothes? I was thinking it went underneath but then you could not be putting it on and taking it off so much without having to disrobe all the time.
What kinds of cookies do you like to make for Christmas as long as I am taking an inventory. It will help me decide whose house to visit first. lol
I agree with you and Adele-these terrorists and shooters are nothing but cowards. Otherwise they would shoot at people who can fight back. However, why does our country have so many of these whether from terrorists or mentally unstable people. We have more than anywhere else on earth. There have been 355 mass shootings in our country this year-more than the days of the year so far. We have to make this unacceptable. This has to be addressed during this next presidential race-it needs to be a priority. Amen.
I never realized that Ron went to Korea. He must have been in the service during the Vietnam War and was lucky that he wasn’t sent there. Greg was in the national Guard back then but was never deployed.
Our dusting of snow was so beautiful yesterday morning and now it’s just about all gone. I need to get busy on my decorating this weekend. Christmas will be here before we know it. Then after that you will be welcoming a new little member of your family. Hooray for babies!
Gail

[Gail Norusis]

#21919

In light of recent events in Paris and in the United States I have only one wish for this holiday season and every season after that. For this I pray.

[adele shanbar]

#21934

Hi Barbara!
So glad to hear from you.
I hope the other brothers will listen, and go with yours and Jerry’s plan. That is a good one, and one everyone could live with. But, I have to add….do not be too disappointed if he meets with nothing but arguments. I have a feeling from your stories, that once they got their talons into their mother, they want them to stay. I feel so bad for you and Jerry. the worry, and concern must be making him sick.
I love your stories. Good or bad. They make us closer friends when we share. That was awful about Jerry’s back. I think you said he has trouble with his back now, am I right? How long was he laid up?
I love the story about the Christmas presents- all of them, especially the ring…..LOL LOL
Here is a funny one about Gary. One year, he knew I wanted a new cappuccino machine. So, he gets me one. All proud of his little self he was. I opened the d a huge “reconditioned” sticker on it. The pot had water in it, and was obviously a returned piece. My kids were hysterical. I asked him what he was thinking???? I was so mad, it was funny. He answered that it was cheaper than the other ones. I said, “Yes, and watch this item go right into the trash”, and so it did. That was the last present my husband ever bought for me. I buy my own gifts, as you can see how my whacky husband shops. He tells everyone he doe snot have to buy me anything, because I buy my own gifts. Also, when I was still working, if he ticked me off, I would come home with a new piece of jewelry. If it was a major infraction, I would warn him, “This may be a 4 figure piece”. Oh yes, I have a sense of humor, that can be attached to revenge shopping…..kind of like yours…..LOL LOL This is why we Quackers all get along so well. We do the same things!
I could go on and on with Gary stories. I just need all of you to jog my memory.
I hope Jerry’s conversation went well with his brother, and that his Mom can be back where she wants to be. I will keep her, and all of you, in my prayers.
Hope your day is sparkly! Today I wore my new sweatshirt with the Ho Ho Ho on it, when I went out with the girls.
Adele.

[adele shanbar]

#21936

Hi Colleen
I really hope he will be safe in Korea. I read Barbara’s post, and I hope your SIL will be in the same area, as it seems to be a lot safer. I totally understand your feeling that he is not safe anywhere, especially with all the crazy people doing crazy things, everywhere. I hope Melissa will come and stay with you for the kids’ vacations. that will be nice for all of you. I am glad she has a hobby that she loves, and keeps her mind occupied. She sounds like such a good kid. You have good kids, and grands.
Oh yes, all our stories are quite funny about Christmas. I love hearing everyone’s stories. Read my post to Barbara for more Gary stories….LOL
We made the craft at Sue’s today. It is an up-side down wine glass, painted black, with a white spot on firnt- you ut on earmuffs, eyes, nose and feet, and you have a penguin- the bottom of the glass, which is up-side down, becomes a votive holder. we had fun.
Hope you are having a good day. You daughter and SIL are in my prayers.
Adele

[adele shanbar]

#21938

Barbara….I forgot to tell you my favorite butter cookie recipe is made with confectionary sugar.

Gail
Lebkuchen is a German bar cookie, similar to gingerbread, with chocolate, tiny bit of rum, and Kirschwasser, and nuts, and with chocolate frosting, mixed with a little rum. The Vienna bars have a butter cookie bottom, layer of chocolate and raspberry jam, with nut meringue on the top layer. That recipe was in either the Star or Enquirer magazine in the 1980’s, and called Nancy Regan’s favorite Christmas cookie recipe. Tillie made it that year, and we have made it every tear since then. I wonder if your raspberry bar cookie is the same, or similar?
We all have such great Christmas cookie recipe’s!!!!
I love the Peace world graphic you found. You find and attach such pretty pictures.
Good God! I do not think I would have been able to sleep after eating that luscious food so late at night.
Here is a funny one for you. Sue has a full length mirror in her litchi on a bathroom door. I sat opposite it. Mistake. Big one. So, sitting in my Quaker finery, I looked like the big Quacker version of Ursula. Oh dear. I think I have been into way too much chocolate for the holiday. Or, I have never seen my glittery self in a sitting position, that close up. LOL LOL LOL I told the girls I should take a pic of myself, and post it on the fridge. I may never eat another Lindt ball……..NOT! As Jeanne said, if you cannot lose it, decorate it. I need more full body decorations. Head to toe.
Love all you guys! From your 5 foot, barely 2 inch, Quacker buddy……
Adele

[adele shanbar]

#21940

Gail and Barbara
That is funny about the short girls getting the cute guys. I thought the tall girls with the blond hair got them.
I told my back doctor he made me taller, as I saw the bathroom shelf from a slightly different angle after my last surgery. He said I gained about 1/4 of an inch, after he stopped laughing…..I love my doctors, They all have a sense of humor, which they need when dealing with me.

Love all you guys……all my Quacker buddies!
Adele

PS..there are 2 contests..

[adele shanbar]

#21942

Hey Colleen and Gail-

I heard President Obama say yesterday that you can be on the “no fly list”, and still be able to buy a gun in the US. THAT has to be changed.

Adele

[adele shanbar]

#21944

A big Amen to Gail’s holiday wish for the world.
Adele

[Colleen]

#21969

Hi Gail,
If I figure this all out I will post a picture. She also put cotton on her railing and put penguins on it and they look like they are sliding down the banister. You cannot tell that it is cotton on there and she has lights under the cotton to make it look more realistic. She is really a crafty person. I had just figured out how to post on the other site and now I have to go all thru that again.
The brace goes on top of my clothes. If I want to wear it under my clothes I have to wear a t-shirt or undershirt so it does not touch the skin. With the weather the way it is I will have a coat on and no one will see it. It is not bad it is just big. It is not like the old braces were. It is not plastic it is made out of the same type of materiel that a knee brace or a hand brace is made of. It does have a little hard piece that supports your back but it is hard to describe. Well at least I am not good at it.
I make candy cane cookies and sugar cookies. I use to make my grandmothers recipe for the sugar cookies but they do not have a really good flavor after baked. You have to ice them. The dough taste good though. The kids use to like to eat the dough more then the cookies. lol I have made Russian tea cookies before but they are a lot of work. You have to mix them and roll them in a ball and then roll them in the powdered sugar. It just takes awhile to do it. I have made chocolate fudge, peanut butter fudge and chocolate covered pretzels. Everyone is watching their weight now so I do not make it as much as I use to. Melissa and Danyielle really worry about their weight. That is why they have been skinny just about all their lives. Not so with me. I eat any thing that they put before me well just about. lol
Amen to that Gail. If they do not address it now we may be in serious trouble in a couple of years. They say that they cannot check on the Syrians that they are letting into the country but I think that they should find away. This is about the safety of the American People and our children and grands. Something has to be done. Most of these people get the information on how to make bombs off the internet. That should be stopped also. Why would we let people continue to post that stuff. I believe in freedom of speech and being able to write what you want but when it comes to something that could really hurt people get it off the internet. I will get off my soap box now.
Ron did serve during that era. They have a dmz line over there also. When you are patrolling that area they cannot guarantee your safety. Which I do not know what it is like now. I will just worry until my sil gets home and is safe. Ron was a medic in the Army so was very glad that he did not go over to Vietnam. He would not have been able to stand that. They only had one guy that got really badly hurt and the doctors got him and let the medics out of it. They had some nice officers that are doctor.
Well that is about all from here. Have a good night.
Colleen

[Colleen]

#21971

Hi Adele,
I am hoping that there is not too much going on over in Korea either. Thank-you for the prayers for my daughter and sil. I just hope that the time goes fast and he will be back home soon. I am saying this and he has not even left yet. I just worry about it all the time. You know how that is you have children also. You worry no matter what.
The craft you made sounds really cute. I am not real crafty. I do not know where my kids get it from. Probably from my mom she is pretty crafty. The only two things that I ever accomplished is ceramics and latch hook. Anything else I tried was a disaster. It is just not my thing. Still at my age haven’t figured out what my thing is. That is really bad news.
I like your revenge shopping. That is funny about the cappuccino machine. What was he thinking. He must have been thinking of something else when he bought that. Did you ever get a cappuccino machine? I told Ron that I want a hot brush for Christmas it is easier for me to work with then a curling iron. I cannot wait to see what he comes home with. He may be having potato soup again for a month or two. I go into town and get me something else to eat on days that I am tired of the soup He will never know the difference. You and Barbara are funny. You two must have some good pieces of jewelry.
How are JJ and Aizen doing? Have they been able to come over yet.? I hope that Steph has gotten over that by now and is acting like herself again. Sometimes our kids and grands can drive us crazy. It seems like the older they get the worse they get. So far my kids and I have not quit speaking but they need me to babysit sometimes. So they do not want to make me mad. lol They would have to hire a babysitter.
Not a whole lot going on here. I think that I post a lot to one person and then I do not have anything else to say. Read Gail’s post from me. It may be boring but it is over there.
Have a good night. Will talk to you later.
Colleen

[Gail Norusis]

#21983

Hi Adele,
Somehow I’m thinking that the raspberry bars had oats in the crust or on the top. I will have to pull out the recipe-I think it was in an old Good Housekeeping or Ladies Home Journal or something like that.
You gave me a good chuckle with the whole looking like Ursula thing. I always have the same reaction-who is that large lady in the mirror or in that photo-Oh my gosh-it’s me. Even though i know what size I am in my head I’m still the same size i was when i was 30. Jeanne did have a great line with the “if you can’t lose it-decorate it” I am decorating like crazy!
I will never understand why men think that we would want someone else’s castoff as a gift. I’m like you and just pick out my own gifts for the most part and then everyone is happy. I think as women we have to learn that in general men are not as invested in choosing the perfect gift as most women are-it’s just not in their DNA so we either have to tell them exactly what we want or get it ourselves. Greg knows now that if he wants to get me something really special he just tells me to call Tu at my favorite jeweler in Kansas City. Like I said if I want something electronic he’s right on that.
Here’s another Christmas story. When our kids were little we always had a Christmas get together with two other couples who had children right around the same ages as ours. We always hosted at our house as we were friends with both couples but the other couple didn’t do things with each other-if you get what i mean-we were the mutual contact for both couples. So i would usually do a meat and a potato and the other ladies would bring a side dish and maybe some desert or cookies or something. After dinner the kids would have a visit from Santa. Each year one of the three Dads played Santa and i believe we have video from all these visits. Fun Stuff! My Mom always thought that Greg’s Santa sounded like WC Fields. lol
Your penguin wineglass thing sounds so cute. You know Adele, I don’t know why I think this but whenever I picture Gary i think of the Dad on the Goldbergs-i have no idea why. Is he anything like that? Perhaps he watches TV in his underwear? lol I liked the other week his dad came to the house and did the same thing. I didn’t care for that program the first year but it has grown on me over time except that Barry always talks at the top of his lungs-he needs to tone it down-and of course the Mom is a classic. lol
Gail

[Gail Norusis]

#21985

Hi Colleen,
Gosh the penguins sliding down the banister sound so cute too. I guess maybe when i was younger I was better at decorating too. Now i just want to get it over and done with.
I do remember that some recipes for the sugar cookies taste really floury until they are decorated. When I was a kid my Mom made them and it was my job to frost and decorate them then. I remember I loved doing that as she gave me the frosting and the colored sugars and those little silver balls and the red cinnamon balls. She also made those little wreath things with melted marshmallows and corn flakes and they always needed those little red balls on them too. Now I’m thinking of how much fun it would be to bake with my mother again-like that song by Luther Vandross-Dance with my Father Again. Now I’m getting sad so i need to change the subject.
As a medic I’m sure that if Ron had been in Vietnam he would have been sent into conflict so it’s very good that he went to Korea. My Dad was actually in Korea after he served in WWII. He was in the army in the world war and then after he came home he joined the Air Force reserves and when the Korean conflict started he was sent back over by the Air Force.
I’m thinking that Ron getting you a hot brush could be interesting. Maybe you better research them and tell him what kind you like otherwise he will be lost unless he has one of your girls helping him. Is your hair short? Mine is just to my shoulders and I got the darn thing stuck because i wasn’t using it right and Greg had to detangle me. If your hair is shorter though that shouldn’t be a problem. They are good for a quick fix.
Gail

[adele shanbar]

#22026

Hey Gail
You know, I always tell Gary he is so much like the father on the Goldberg’s. Some of the things he says, comes right out of his mouth. Only thing is, he does not sit abound in his underwear. On that, he is the opposite. He would die if someone saw him in his bloomers. He even got embarrassed when I got him red and other bright colors of underwear from Tommy Hilfiger.
I love the Goldberg’s, because the mother was just like I was. A lot of similarities. In one episode I called Heather to tell her we were on TV. I volunteered at their school, was head of the parents group, did the fundraising, was the Girl Scout Leader, chaperoned their trips….all because I wanted to make sure they were safe. Just like Beverly Goldberg, accept not quite as crazy as she gets, or perhaps worst…..LOL

My Vienna bars do not have oatmeal. their top is a meringue with a lot of nuts in it (chopped).

I love that Christmas story!

Gary no longer buys any presents for me. I wrap them up, and put from “Santa” on them. The grand’s howl!
Hope you have a good weekend.
Do you believe all those poor people lost their lives, so close to the holidays? It makes me cry, when they talk about who they were, and those they left behind. My prayers are with all those poor people.
Adele

[adele shanbar]

#22028

Hi Colleen
I do the same thing- read my post to Gail for more details.
I am listening to the report on the terror attack in California. I am continually horrified. To hear about the lives of the individual victims is awful. It brings me to tears.
I will be pryaing for your daughter and SIL until he is home again, all safe and sound.
Poor Ron is on the potato list again. That is just so funny.
Let me know how you like the hot brush. I have never heard of that one.
I do have a lot of nice “revenge jewelry”….LOL Now, Gary gets a strike, instead of a bill, since I retired.
I have not seen Aizen or JJ since last weekend. This weekend will be busy, as we will be visiting friend’s tomorrow.
We both got our flu shots today. So, we are all set for the winter.
Hope you have a good weekend too!
Adele

[Colleen]

#22035

Hi Adele,
that is just so funny about the revenge jewelry. He must have wanted to be careful after the cappuccino machine. That is so funny that he left the tag on there that it was refurbished. Sounds like Ron he would not have thought of taking that tag off either. Men are never thinking before they do things like that. They should always check with the daughters before they buy things.lol
I did things like that when my oldest was in school. I was a room mother and a assistant girl scout leader. I also worked on the play ground at lunch time. She acted like she did not know me when I was on the play ground though. It was always embarrassing to the kids whose mom’s did that. So never bothered her when she was out there. My middle daughter liked it though. She would come up to me and walk around with me. Some of her friends would walk with us also.
It is like a curling iron except it is a brush. It is a lot easier for me to use because my hair is short. They have had them on qvc before. I cannot remember who puts it out. I think it is Calista or someone like that. I know that I did not spell her name right. You just run it thru your hair like a round hair brush and it curls it without giving it too much curl. I have always had trouble with a curling iron. I am left handed and they do not make things for a person that is left handed. So you have to maneuver things and I am just not good with a curling iron. Do you remember the brush curlers? They were not the ones that you heat or anything this was before all of that. Well my daughter Danyielle asked my daughter Mandy to put her hair up in curlers. She had really long hair. When they tried to take them out her hair was caught in the rollers and it took me and Ron forever to get them out. It was funny but it wasn’t. She had a head full of rollers that were stuck in her hair. We did finally get them out but it did take awhile. She never let her sister touch her hair again.lol
That is so sad that they shot those people. They are saying now that it was a terrorist attack. I thought that all along. Those poor people and all the injured. I hope that they are not injured like the people that were in the Boston marathon. These people do not have a right to live in this country. I think that they said that they also had a baby and it is in custody of the government. I wonder what will happen with the baby. That poor little thing is going to need a lot of prayers. Can you imagine what it is like to know that your parents are terrorists. That is sad for the people that lost loved ones in that shooting. I cannot listen to that stuff anymore. It just bothers me too much. I will check in once in awhile and see what they have found out but that is about it.
Well that is about all from here. Have a good night.
Colleen

[Colleen]

#22037

Hi Gail,
Biskit was killed today by a bus. She ran out to chase something she heard in the woods across and got hit by the bus. The driver backed up and was talking to Ron. She really felt bad but there was nothing she could do. Ron was out there and she just darted off before he could stop her. I keep saying I do not want another dog after this but he will start looking in a couple of weeks. I know he will. It is just too painful to keep losing dogs like that.
My dad was in the Marines. He came home after the war. He did not reenlist. World war ll was a rough war on those guys but you never hear them say much. Most of them just let it go and went on with life. I do not see how they did it but we were lucky that they did. They were treated much better the the vets from Vietnam. They were treated terrible. Glad that people are not acting like that now. Those poor guys are fighting a different war.
Melissa sent me a couple of pictures of what she has made. I will try to post them on here. Hope that I can do it. They are on my phone so will see if it will work. I am not sure how to do this when they are a picture sent to me. Will have to get Mandy to come over and help me.
I do not remember the marshmallows with cornflakes. They sound really good. If you start to feel sad about baking cookies with your mom you should have you daughter come over and help you bake some. It may be fun to do that together. The grands helping will be fun also. That will cheer you up.
Yes my hair is short. I use to have one of the hot brushes before. Have not used on for a long time. I have shown him pictures of them and one of the girls will help him I am sure. I told Adele a story about my daughters and hair rollers if you feel like read it on there.
Well not much else going on here. Do you have any big plans for the week-end? We are not doing much. It is really cold here. still have some things that I need to get for Christmas presents will have to try and get that done this week-end or wait for Monday.
Have a good night.
Colleen

[Gail Norusis]

#22045

Hi Colleen,
Oh, I am so so sorry about Bisket. You must be heartbroken-she was still a young dog too. And Ron must feel awful too-especially being right there. I know when they run in front of a car or bus the vehicle just cannot stop in time. She is over the Rainbow Bridge now playing with your other dogs and our Belle and Abby. It is hard to get another dog and open yourself up to that possible future hurt again. Two weeks is kind of soon-maybe Ron will wait longer this time. I hope so for your sake. We have never had outside dogs. Our dogs have always been indoor dogs who just go outdoors to go to the bathroom or to go for a walk. If they were loose in the yard one or both of us were out there with them walking around and when we came in they came in. I know the farmers and such around here have outdoor dogs but I was always too afraid of losing a dog or having it run away to do that-plus Belle or Rocky were too little to be left outdoors alone any way-they would have been someone’s dinner. Years ago we had a Dalmation and if we would forget and leave him in the dog pen for too long he would climb the fence and come and sit on the front step to be let back in. Funny guy! I wonder if Austin will be looking for Bisket. You know what a dog person that I am and I feel so bad for you and Ron. Your eyes must be red from crying. I’m sending a big huge hug your way, my friend.
I hope that you can figure out how to get the pictures on here. Every time I want to get pictures out of my camera or phone on to here I have to ask Greg for help. Because i don’t do it all the time I forget how to do it between times and have to be told again. it’s not like when I was young and remembered things from doing them once or twice.
It’s funny I was looking up the recipe for those raspberry bars today and I ran across a recipe for those cornflake wreathes my mom used to make. I really didn’t like them that much but i liked to decorate them. They were dyed green with food coloring. You know Jenny is not much for baking. I don’t think she’s ever made a homemade cake or cookie. First of all she has so little time what with three kids and working full time. Second she was never really that interested growing up. Brent was more likely to help me make stuff in the kitchen than she was. He used to help me shape the crescents and stuff dumplings and all kinds of stuff.
I never realized that you are left handed. My SIL is also and she always talks about how none of the tools like scissors and stuff is made for left handed people. Plus if you want to knit or crochet or something you either have to learn to do it like a right handed person or in a totally different way. My brother is left handed and he was the one who taught me to play pool so that is the only thing that I do left handed. I used to be pretty good at at it too-now not so much.
I just have a few more gifts to get too and then I think that I am all done unless i forgot something. I hope to get those things finished up this week.
Gail

[Gail Norusis]

#22047

Oh Colleen,
Your story about the curlers reminds me of something i just saw a story about on TV and online. There is a popular toy out this year-can’t remember what it is called but kids have been getting them stuck in their hair and they are just about impossible to get out. They are like round litle balls with bristles on them. I just you build with them by sticking them together but they also will get stuck in a child’s hair and are just about impossible to get out. Parent’s are calling them the blocks from hell. lol

[Gail Norusis]

#22049

Hi Adele,
Or should I say Beverly. That is funny that you were like her. Did your kids hide when they saw you coming? I must say we had a house where a lot of the kids used to like coming over to-so i kind of kept an eye on things that way. I did go on a lot of field trips with the kids but usually they actually wanted me there. But I must say Beverly is a bit over the top-but what a great character she is. I love when they show at the end of the program a picture of the real life incident that the theme from that night’s show came from. It shows how if presented right we can all make our real lives sound interesting or funny. Everybody really does have a story.
I too feel awful for the families of those killed in the attacks. People that the one fellow worked side by side with. I just can’t wrap my mind around the concept of killing innocent people for an ideal. That is fanaticism at it’s worst. And then going out knowing that you will probably never see your six month old baby again. That poor child. Plus I keep on reading reports that Farook’s family lawyers said this or that. Why do they need to lawyer up? There’s no one alive to defend and who would you sue for damages-their can’t be any estate. I don’t quite get it. Anyway, I don’t want to talk about these people anymore-they just want the attention. It’s the the people who are dead and injured who should have our focus now. All i can say is whatever it takes we have to find a better way of keeping people safe in this country.
I think it’s an excellent idea to get what you want and mark it from Santa. I can do you one better. I will sometimes get something and give it to Greg to wrap and tell him he’s giving me that for Christmas. I figured if i went through the trouble to shop for him the least he can do is rap it. lol
Gail

[adele shanbar]

#22085

Hello everyone.

I decided to answer everyone on one post, as I was not on yesterday. We got home too late, and I was pooped.

Gail
Oh yes. My kids hid when they saw me coming, and I hid when I was stalking them…..LOL They never knew when I would pop up. Literally. Either me, or my girlfriends.
All the kids gathered at my house. We had at least one sleep-over a week, for one or the other. On Saturday nights, I made home made pizza, and chocolate chip cookies, and they all came in and out for a piece. That went on for just about all their teen years. I see a lot of Beverly in me. I had at least one of the sweaters she wears, and some others I had similar fabrics. Heather had a lot of similar outfits the girls wear. Does anyone remember the “Camo Beverly Hills” clothes the girls had back then? Heather had a lot of them. They were sold up here by Filenes.

I also feel the horror of what happened in California is so terribly disturbing to all of us. That poor baby they left behind. What a cross for her to bear. This has to come to an end. People have to report everything they see that just does not seem right. That is the one thing we can all do to try and save ourselves.

Gary cannot wrap gifts. It looks like a baby did it. I think they invented the bags for him.

Colleen
I am so terribly sorry about Bisket. how awful for all of you. Ron must have been devastated watching that. I just do not know what to say, accept I am so sorry for the loss of your puppy. How are you both doing?
I did have those rollers. It was a real skill to get them out of your hair, and painful. That was a very funny story about your daughters, and the curlers. I can see it now!
Gary’s back brace also goes over his clothes, and his is had to get on and off too.
I hope you and Ron are doing something nice today, to get your mind off your puppy.

Barbara
Hope you are good, and getting all decorated.

Sue
Hope you are feeling good today, and getting your mind off this awful tragedy too.

Love all my Quackers!
Adele

[Colleen]

#22087

Hi Gail,
It is hard to believe that she will not be outside running up to us the minute we go out She was only 2 so that is not very old. She was spoiled rotten even though she was an outside dog. Austin does miss her. He just lays around and does not do much. I guess he realizes that she is gone. Ron had to take Bisckit out and bury her. He said that it is easier for him to do that then to have someone else do it. We have a regular pet cemetery in our woods. Biskit is buried next to Lucky. Ron is going to look for another dog and that worries me. I am not sure that I am ready for another dog. Ron is different he was raised in the country and so he is use to things like this happening. So he just goes on and gets another dog. That is just so sad. They did have a farm at one point so he was use to a lot of things that I wasn’t.
When one of the kids come over they will show me how or they will do it for me. One of the grands may do it you never know. They are good at doing things like that. The only thing is Kylie is the one that put my picture in here sideways. May have to get James to straighten it out. lol. There is a picture of Kaylee with the snowman will post that one also. Do not know for how long though. Her mom posts her pictures on face book so she probably will not mind. It is my oldest that does not like it.
Maybe the grand kids will make cookies with you. That might be fun for them since their mom does not do it. She is really busy and does not have enough time to do much. I understand how that is. My youngest use to work and go to school and that took up a lot of her time. Ethan did not do much with her during that time. She tries to do a lot with Kaylee and Kaylee really enjoys it. She does not work now because it is too hard to find a job where they are. It costs a lot of money for a babysitter also. So they figured it was easier for her to stay home with the kids. She really enjoys it also.
You know how it is then to try and do something with your left hand. Even just learning to play pool with you left hand must have been hard for you. Especially since you are right handed. My mom use to try and teach me how to do things with my left hand but she was right handed and it just never worked out. I think that sometimes she got frustrated. So we would quit. She really did try though and I always appreciated that.
Well that is about all from here. Have a good day.
Colleen

[Colleen]

#22096

Hi Adele,
We have not done much here this week-end. Just did not feel like it.Mandy and her family came over for turkey noodle soup. We made a big pot of it but they ate all of it. They must have been really hungry tonight. They are the ones with the two older grands. So they eat a lot more then the younger ones. Even they are girls when they are here they eat really good. They told me that I cook better then their mom does. I always tell them of course I do. I can imagine they tell their mom she cooks better the I do. They ar smart kids and know how to butter us up. lol
My granddaughter posted the pictures of the snowman that Melissa made. (she is my youngest) In the one picture my youngest grand at the moment is in the picture. That is our Kaylee. She is spoiled rotten. I like they way Melissa decorated the wall around the snow man. She was going to put more stars up but decided it might be too much. She is very crafty. She sure did not get it from me.
She had no problem putting those pictures on there. It would have taken me all day to do that and it took her five minutes. It was Kylie that did that. She took a class at school that taught her how to do that. She did make them a little big but they are cute. The penguins on the banister is cute also. She looks at a picture and does it from that. ( my daughter not my grand daughter)
Not much else going on here. We are supposed to have a warm up here this week. That is not good. It is going to get into the upper sixties and that will bring storms over the week-end when it is supposed to cool down. I do not like that at all. It would be better if it stayed cool and did not warm up like that. Oh well we have not control of the weather.
Well that is about all from here. Have a good night.
Colleen

[Gail Norusis]

#22102

Hi Colleen,
It was kind of a quiet weekend on these boards. Remember when there seemed to be a lot of activity on these boards with lots of people posting. I guess those days are long gone and it is just the little core group of us keeping things going until someone else comes along and is brave enough to jump in and join us. It does take courage to do that first posting because you feel like you are intruding on a group of friends who have known each other for ages and you wonder whether people will ignore you or accept you.
We have a pet cemetary too out behind our pole barn. I even have little markers for our fur babies who are buried out there. However-we had both Abby and Belle cremated and I had every intention of burying the ashes but at first I couldn’t part with Abby’s and now I’m just kind of used to having having the two little urns around. Maybe we will bury them someday-I’m just not sure. Maybe you could ask Ron not to get another dog yet-that you are just not ready and are too busy with the holidays coming.
Thanks for posting those pictures. I looked for them on here but finally tracked them done of the front of the Quacker social page. I wish there was an actual place for all of us to post pictures like on the other site. Once other things replace the pictures on the front page you really have to dig to find them again. Melissa is very creative. The tree and the penguins are so cute! Someone decorated a snowman tree like that for ONP last year. I remember that now. I wonder if she looks at things on Pinterest for her ideas-that seems to be the place that the young people go now for crafty ideas. I think the young people now a days are born knowing how to text and post pictures and send them and all that stuff. It just seems to be second nature to them all. I don’t blame Melissa for wanting to stay home with the kids if she can. They are only young once and as we all know the time goes so fast. I was lucky enough to be able to stay home with ours but not everyone can. Some women prefer to go out to work too. All I ever really wanted was to have kids so I was glad to be able to stay with them. Although sometimes I wish that I had had a career too. The problem is I still don’t know what I want to be when I grow up. lol
By the way. I love turkey soup too! I would have been by if i had known that you were serving it. Do you put noodles in yours? I love some chicken or turkey soup with some big wide egg noodles. Yum!
Gail

[Gail Norusis]

#22104

Hi Adele,
I hope that you had a fun visit. I do notice that everything seems to be more tiring now than it used to be.
I don’t remember Beverly Hills camo but maybe that’s because your kids are a little older than mine are, I believe. So maybe it was before our time. Brent was born in 81 and Jenny in 82 so they were not even teenagers in the 80’s.
Men in general are not good gift wrappers. Plus they complain about having to wrap a few presents for us when we wrap all the presents for everyone else in the family-his side and ours. lol I must say though Brent used to help me wrap when he was a little older. He was a sweet kid. Jenny was always too busy with her social life to help much. lol
Well we got the trees up today and even though they are not decorated yet the lights are pretty. Greg set up the bliss lights on the front of the house for me so that’s done. I still have to hang wreaths and put out table decorations but will work on that little by little during the week and hopefully finish up on the weekend.
When Greg was bringing things up from the basement today I was upstairs doing some cleaning. So each time he went up and down the stairs he left the door to the basement open thinking that Rocky wouldn’t venture down. Well sure enough he did and he walked part way down the stairs and then fell the rest of the way. He seems to be okay but I noticed that Greg came and found me and told me right away as I imagine that scared him and he knew there would be hell to pay if something happened to the dog. See he has to learn to think like Rocky. First of all Rocky was probably looking for me since I was upstairs. He can no longer hear that I am up there and because he is elderly his brain processes are no longer totally clear so he probably thought because he couldn’t see me that I was downstairs with Greg and that’s probably why he tried to go down there. In any case he seems to be okay- knock wood. Greg also let him fall through the ice into the pond one time when he had him out and wasn’t paying attention. He thought he could float that one by me but I caught him trying to dry Rocky off before I saw him . lol I was not a happy camper.
Here’s something funny. I went to turn the trees off and they are both supposed to have these little mouse things on them that you tell to turn the tree off with a voice command. So it worked for the upstairs one and then I’m standing there talking to the downstairs tree over and over and nothing is happening and I finally figured out that for some reason he didn’t connect the voice command thing to that tree. So there I am in the middle of the night standing in the middle of the living room talking to a Christmas tree that won’t even answer me. Is this a call for “they’re coming to take me away?” lol Plus I just noticed that he didn’t put the tree skirt down. Hmmm. Slacking his duties which are minimal to begin with as far as decorating or Christmas in general is concerned. But he did pick up dinner from the Mexican restaurant so that’s a good thing.
Gail

[adele shanbar]

#22108

Hi Colleen!
I am glad you had your daughter, and the kids over this weekend to keep you and Ron company. I am sure you are both lonely without your puppy.
Of course you cook better then your daughter- we oldies have more experience. I bet that soup was delicious. Soup is my all time favorite meal. I love all kinds of soups.
I do not see your pictures. I will look at your page, in case they are there.
Our grand’s know a lot more about computers than we do.
I decorated myself to death yesterday. I was really stiff last night. I purged some more, an will either give, or throw away some, and then sell some Annalees on Ebay. So, my job for today is to vacuum the 2 rooms, because of the mess of getting boxes out, and then take the pics for Ebay.
Hope you have a good day.
Adele

[adele shanbar]

#22112

Hey Gail!
That is so funny about the tree. Where did you get the tress that have voice command? I have never heard of that. Are they also easy to put together? I have the slim one form QVC a few years back, and there are so many connections you want to spit. Hubby took all the plugs apart last year, and I nearly killed him. I leave them all plugged, accept the one that connects the 3 pieces together. So, I am thinking of a new one for next year.
We did have a good visit, but it is a long ride. We really cannot do that long in the car in one day anymore. Gary said next time we go, we need to spend the night up there. But, all rooms are really ot handicap friendly, so that makes it hard to. I feel we are just better riding home.
that poor puppy! Greg will be in the dog house, if she is not feeling well today. It is hard when the dogs get so old that they cannot climb stairs. It seems to happen when we have difficulty getting up them ourselves. That is what is so hardy about a pet- seeing them get old.
Well, as I told Colleen, I decorated myself to death yesterday. Finally got out the last boxes in the last closet. I was so pooped, I told Gary I am not going to have Bobby get up the 2 bins that go on the tree, and that have the big Annalee’s in them- I am done. I said, “Who cars if the tree is not decorated- you cannot tell from outside.”…..LOL LOL One thing I cannot find is the lighted garland for the railings. We cannot find them anywhere. I have a feeling they were thrown out in error.
I am making the potato Latke’s for Garry this week for Hanukah. We just have to figure out which night is best for everyone.
Hope your week will be good, and free of any falls. I wish I had a video of you talking to the tree….LOL
Adele

[Gail Norusis]

#22124

Hi Adele,
The actual tree doesn’t talk. It’s this little mouse thing that you plug in somewhere that turns it off and on with voice commands. I think it’s made by Mr. Christmas-I got it from the Q a few years back and then I saw them in the home improvement stores and got them for the kids too. It also plays some Christmas carols too. The grandkids love it. Years ago I bought from the Q a Santa called Show Me The Lights Santa that you told the Santa to turn the tree lights off and on. Well everyone else in the family ended up loving that so much-they would all come over to play with it-so I tried one year to get one for Greg’s siblings and mine but they no longer made them-they must have been a one and done kind of thing-I think they were from Mr. Christmas too-I don’t know why they make those things for such a limited time. I have also tried to get another talking advent calandar like mine which I think also might be Mr. Christmas-can’t get that anywhere either. Not on their website-nada. You can find the Show Me the Lights Santa on EBay for big bucks. I wish Mr. Christmas would bring some of that stuff back. The show me the lights Santa would start to get weird by the end of the season though and seem to turn the lights on and off whenever he felt like it. I always thought it was kind of like the ventriloquists dummy come to life so we retired him and he resides in a box in the basement amongst the other decorations.
I just watched that Great Holiday Baking program. How funny that they bake in a tent in the middle of a field. All I can say is watching it makes me want to eat a whole box of cookies. How about the Chinese Restaurant and the Eiffel Tower gingerbread houses. Wow! Those were impressive. Interesting that one lady is Jewish and she is baking all this Christmas stuff. lol Speaking of that-it seems like Hanukkah is early. Do you make any thing else besides the potato pancakes to celebrate. Gary gets the best of both worlds-he gets to benefit from both celebrations.
We had a new QVC tree a few years ago and it ended up being recalled. At first every one thought it would have to be shipped back but then they just said to cut the cord and send it in and they would refund our money. that was the last tree we got from the Q. Their trees are pretty costly and with the S and H cost we decided it was better to get them from a store and if something went wrong in the future we wouldn’t be out that much money. The trees aren’t as fancy but I am just as happy with the cheaper models. They get all covered with ornaments anyway. Plus every once in awhile a mouse will get into the tree and chew through the wires and then the tree is no good. That’s why I really miss being able to have cats-when we had them we had no mice in the basement.
I hope you found your garland. Every year I try to organize and mark everything but things just slip by me. Like Greg and I couldn’t find the bliss lights and that’s because they had stored them in a cardboard box instead of the plastic bins.
I was surprised to turn on the Q this afternoon and see Dan Wheeler. I thought he was going to take 4 months off after his wife died. I guess maybe he felt like he would do better going back to work and being around people. I’m glad to see that-I would think that would be helpful-working and feeling useful.
You know most motels have some handicapped accessible rooms. I guess you would have to make the reservation ahead of time to be sure. But sometimes that might be better than making the drive back home while you are both tired from the day. It could be a little mini vacation.
I hope that you found Colleen’s pictures. I wish we had a regular spot to post pictures like on the old site. The part here that is labeled photos seems to be only for the people that control the site. By the way-for Colleen’s sake I am posting an attachment here. It just so happens to be part of the Christmas gift for my groomer and pet sitter but I felt it was appropriate.
Gail

[Gail Norusis]

#22127

You have to click on the picture so that you can read the whole thing in it’s entirety. Is it just me or do other people find things get cut off when they post.

[Colleen]

#22140

Hi Gail,
I like the picture that you posted about the dog. It is so true. Every dog that you get touches your heart and is really missed when they are gone. Just do not know how I feel about another dog. We have had a few and something happens to all of them. We had a dog Toby and he was like a teddy bear. Well more like a big bear. One day he just disappeared. He was a good watch dog. He would scare people off because they did not realize that if they stepped out of their cars he would not do anything but lick their hands. He would not even jump up on them. It was good though because he could keep people off the place when we were gone or if I was home alone.
It would be nice if we could figure out a way to get more ladies to join us. Everyone is welcome. Sue said it that one day that we do not answer everyone but I thought that we did .I guess that some people feel that way and that is a shame. We usually like everyone that comes on here.
When Kylie posted them they were really big. They made them smaller and put them on my page under photos. I do not know how to post them on here where we are chatting. That will take awhile. I hope that Kylie figures it out soon.lol She was going to try and show me how but she gave up. There were too many people around and it was distracting. I will have to get her here by herself and have her teach me how to do it.
I am not sure where she gets her ideas. I will have to ask her. It is cheaper to make decorations then to buy them. She would have never gone out and bought that snow man in the store because she needs the money for everyone else. Kaylee likes to help her. She couldn’t help with the Santa because it was too tall. She did help with the banister and the penguins. She is going to be a crafter like her mother.
Next time we fix turkey soup we will let you know. We do use the wide egg noodles. Ron put extra noodles in there so it was more like a noodle soup with turkey in it.lol He really likes the wide noodles. I can eat it if I do not have a lot of the broth. I am still having trouble with broth since I was in the hospital. It is probably all in my mind.
Well that is about all from here have a good night.
Colleen

[Colleen]

#22142

Gail, forgot to ask when is the onp event. That should be pretty soon won’t it. Hope that you post some pictures again it is so much fun to see what they have done every year.
Colleen

[Colleen]

#22144

Gail I am so glad that Rocky did not get hurt falling down the stairs. That must have scared you and Greg. Bet Greg will not leave the door open again when he goes downstairs. I am just glad that Rocky is okay.
That is funny you standing there talking to the tree. That would be one for Americas funniest videos. Next time you will have to check to make sure he plugged it in. Men do not think all the time. Sounds like something that Ron would do. I did not read all the posts before I wrote to you better read them next time.
Colleen

[Colleen]

#22146

Hi Adele,
They did move my pictures to my page under photos. At first I thought they were lost. I will have to figure out how to post them like Gail did on this page here. Someday I will I am sure or my granddaughter will. That is probably how it will happen She will learn how and I will watch.lol
It is hard to get rid of Christmas things. I have three villages that just sit in my closet because I do not want to put them up all the time anymore. We do not have the room we use to have and so it is hard to find the space. I need to figure out away to put it all up. I will do it for one more year and then start to give the pieces to the girls. The two younger ones will take pieces but my oldest will have nothing to do with it. She only has so much up in her house and that is it. My grandson takes some things home with him and puts them in his room. He likes to decorate.
I remember the piece that Gail has. They sold it on qvc and it is really cute. My tree is remote control. That is really nice. We do not have to get up and unplug and plug it in. It is not as easy to bend down anymore. We are going to have to get a new tree next year. Our tree is starting to lose the needles it is getting old. I want to try one of the ones with the electric in the pole. They seem so much easier to deal with. Not so many wires. I have to laugh at Ron. He decided that we should have a star on the top of the tree. We have had an Angel for years but he wanted something different. So he goes and buys a star and it does not have the thing on it to put it on top of the tree. So he has to tie it on to the top. I had to laugh because it does not look all that good but he is determined that we are going to have a star. The star is more about Christmas. I keep telling him so is the Angel but he won’t listen. So guess we will have a star tied to the top of our tree for now on.lol
Are you going to do Hanuka at your house this year? Last year you celebrated at the nursing home didn’t you? How are things going with your sil and bil? What are potato latke? I am sure that you have told us before but I forgot. Is the food for Hanuka bland or does it have a lot of flavor to it? I may be thinking of something else. It is nice that you celebrate both. Must make Gary feel really good that you do that for him.
Well that is about all from here. Have a good night.
Colleen

[Gail Norusis]

#22153

Hi Colleen,
I just loved that piece about the dogs. I am gifting that plaque to our dog groomer and dog sitter. I just love plaques with sayings on them-also jewelry with sayings on them too. I am surprised that i do not have plaques with sayings all over the house.
That’s the one thing that I miss about not having a bigger sized dog around. I always felt safe with Abby around and with Jake and Shadow before her. Especially Jake as he did not like strange men for some reason-so i always felt safe when I was alone with him around. A big dog does a lot to deter people with bad intentions.
I love all the homemade decorations-they are so cute if you are talented enough to make them. I like that Kaylee was posing in that picture-she is so cute and has the most beautiful little heart shaped face. She looked excited about the tree. Do you remember how the level of excitement rises in the kids as Christmas gets closer and closer? I can even remember what it felt like when I was a kid. I like to go to the craft fairs and look at the homemade decorations and household goods-people are so talented in so many different ways. Anymore I don’t buy much as I don’t really need any new decorations. I have given some of my things to Jenny-some wreaths and decor that I don’t use anymore. The only thing is almost all my stuff is multicolored lights and her tree lights and house lights are clear. It’s funny we started out with multi lights and then when icicle lights became all the rage we went with white for awhile and now we are back to multi. I actually find them easier on the eyes-the white lights feel too bright to me. Greg likes the multi lights better too. That’s funny that Ron has the star tied to the top of a tree. Sometimes even with the part to put them on the stars don’t stay right. I have a couple that I can’t use because they bend down the top of the tree. I guess they are too heavy or the top of the tree is too scrawny. My angel kind of lost her wings so now i think I have a lady in some kind of fur coat-can’t remember if she is supposed to be an angel or a Victorian Lady-I guess that really has nothing to do with Christmas. My smaller tree doesn’t even have a topper-I guess it has a naked top. lol That’s the tree that has the ornaments that are those little sweaters from Quacker factory and some glass ornaments that Quacker sold on those old Quacker home shows. I am glad I bought those as all that was discontinued within a short amount of time so those are pretty special. Does anyone remember the Quacker home shows? I discovered that Greg didn’t attach the thing to turn the tree on because he didn’t know where it was. It was right in the box with the ornaments for the tree along with the tree skirt but I guess that was too obvious of a place to look.lol
Do you put carrots or other vegetables in your turkey soup? I guess if you add enough other stuff in to make it thicker it won’t be like broth and then you can eat it. Maybe as time goes on broth won’t bother you as much.
I think we answer everyone that comes on and writes something. Now if someone posts something that’s kind of off the wall sometimes I just don’t have a response and so I don’t say anything in order not to start a conflict. And at other times people post something that doesn’t even require a response. Like if they are asking Quacker to do something. Also, I think this new site is not quite as user friendly as the old ones-plus I guess there are Quackers on Facebook maybe and many people prefer just to post short remarks there. Whatever, we have tried and we do welcome all comers so that’s about all that we can do.
Time to do more decorating today. It’s sad that what once took me two days now takes me two weeks. lol
Gail

[adele shanbar]

#22161

Hi Colleen
Potato Latka’s are made of shredded potato, eggs, some flour and salt/ pepper, a little garlic and a little chopped onion. Yo mix up the mixture, and fry them in about an inch of oil, the size of a small pancake. Most people put sour cream on them. For some reason, I like to mix in a little sweet, so I top mine with a tiny bit of jelly. Also used to top them is homemade apple sauce, which I did one year, but Gary likes his plain, so why bother! They are very tasty, and the oil can clog your veins, like all Jewish cooking. We always do Hanukkah here, as my BIL and SIL do theirs with their kids.

The last holiday, which was in the Fall, we did at the nursing home with my BIL, and his family. He has since been in a hospital for a while, and just got moved to a different nursing home, that handles all Alzheimer patients. he could not go back to the other one, as they could not keep him safe there. He is getting worst. Why he ended up in the hospital, is because when he gets frustrated at night (the sun downing thing) he was getting nasty. They changed his meds, and worked on his night anxiety, and have him sleeping a little better- he was up all night. It is very sad, all the way around. Since heis now at a nursing home, and seems to be doing better there, so we will be visiting soon. I feel so bad for my SIL, her daughters, and their grands. It is such a nasty disease.

I found your pictures, and commented on them. Your granddaughter is adorable. What a cutie!

It is gloomy here, which makes everyone feel gloomy. I have The Chew on. Nothing spectacular so far, for today.
Hope you and Ron are feeling a little better without your adorable puppy. I feel so sorry about what happened.
Adele

[adele shanbar]

#22170

Hi Gail
I really have to look around for a new tree for next year. that will take some time, for sure. I have not found the garland. Gary thinks they missed it in the attic.
I loved the gingerbread houses they made. they were spectacular. I recorded the baking show last night, because I was watching the new “Telenovella”. The star is the one who was on Desperate Housewives, and I lover her. Of course, I cannot remember her name right now- the little Spanish woman, who was called Gabrielle on the show. She is so adorable, and a good actress to boot. I have to say, it did make me chuckle, and I needed a chuckle yesterday.
I did find Colleen’s pictures. Her granddaughter is the cutest. Marissa and Amanda were by here a little while ago. they left to do errands, and both have to get to work this afternoon. Marissa is going to get me a Christmas candle, as I am all out of those scents.
It is very gloomy here today. Makes you feel gloomy.
I forgot to tell Colleen the story about Ron and the star for the tree is hysterical. I have a vision of the star being all tied up with rope- that is what Gary would do….LOL
I printed a few recipes from the King Arthur website this morning- more cookies to try, if I decide to. They always have something new going on. Do you not baked anything since turkey day? What is up with that? Way too much decorating going on here…..LOL
Hope you are having a good day, and that your foot is feeling good.
Adele

[adele shanbar]

#22173

Colleen…………for got to say, the story about Ron and the star is hysterical. I am seeing a star wrapped up in rope??????????

LOL LOL
Adele

[Colleen]

#22180

Hi Gail,
The groomer and the sitter will both really like that plaque. That is just really cute. They are making a lot more cute plaques now then they use to. They are nice to hang on the wall. Especially in places where they care for dogs.
I still like to go to see the crafts that they sell around Christmas time. It is nice that I do not have to buy any of them because I do not need them anymore either. Melissa took some decorations home with her this time when she was here. The kids wanted to take my house that tells the Night Before Christmas story home with them so we let them have it. After all the work she did for Thanksgiving she deserved it. I have a reindeer here that Owen and I picked out at a store a long time ago. You push on its hoof and it plays Grandma got run over by a reindeer. We trade off every year. One year he takes it home and then he brings it back so I can keep it. Well this year he told me that I can keep it and he will take it next year. He is leaving it to cheer me up. In other words his mom told him he should leave it here for that. It does not go with the rest of her decor.lol I am hoping that the rest of them will take some Christmas things home with them. Just not my Santa’s yet. I have a lot of village pieces also. I have enough for all of them to have a village. It was so much fun when we believed in Santa. The things that we would dream on Christmas Eve. We always thought that we heard Santa on the roof or in the living room putting the presents under the tree.Did you ever think that you heard any of that when you were a kid? It was just so exciting. It is hard when they all stop believing. We were almost there but now we have a new baby who will believe.
You should put your Victorian lady on top of the sweater tree. She would fit right there. I remember the quacker home shows. She had some really cute things. It sure did not last for long. They seemed to have a lot of things sell out. I wonder if it just was not profitable for them to continue. They made more money with the clothes.
Ron is watching the news again. They are talking about Government wasting money. Like that was a surprise they have been doing that for years. What makes people think that they were going to stop all of a sudden. Oh heavens I am listening to the news and getting upset. I am going to have to take the remote away form him. I am getting brain washed. lol
How is Rocky? Hope he is okay. Just thought that I would check since he had that fall.
Well that is about all from here.
Colleen

[Colleen]

#22182

Hi Adele,
Your sil will find that nursing homes know how to handle patients with Alzheimer a lot better then they do in the hospital. They have to deal with it more. Most of the patients with Alzheimer go to nursing homes and stay there for the long time. So you have to know what to do with them. You would be surprised at some of the things that they will do with patients to calm them down. They will color pictures or play ball with them Not baseball or football. They just pass a ball back and forth. For some reason it calms people down. Some people I am not saying all of them. We had to do that with patients where I worked.
The potato Latka’s sound really good. The sour cream them sounds really good. I would make some type of milk gravy to put on them also.They probably can not do that though. I am not sure about the Jewish customs just that they cannot eat pork. I only remember that because we had friends that were Jewish and we could never have pork when they were at the house. It all worked out fine because they could not have meat on Friday’s days when we went to their house for dinner. That is about all I knew about that. The rest I did not pay attention to. Was to young to care about all of that. Just wanted to go play like the rest of the kids. I wish that I would have asked more questions back then.
The sun thing is called sun downers. It is hard for a lot of people. They just cannot sleep at night or they get day and night confused. I use to know all of that but have forgotten some of it. I have to look things up in my book again. It has been awhile since I worked in a nursing home.
Ron did find a string to tie the star with. If he would have found it we would have rope holding it on the tree. He is that determined to have that star on the tree. It is like a battle that he had to win. Sometimes men are stubborn.
Thank you we think she is cute also. She is going to be a charmer when she starts dating. If she does not get mad and open her mouth. That would scare any boy off. She rolls her eyes and stomps her foot. That only works with the kids the adults just laugh and tell that it won’t get her what she wants so she might as well quit.
I have to watch the Chew tonight. We were gone most of the day today and did not watch tv. I do not like to watch all the commercials there are a lot of them.
Well that is about all from here. Have a good night.
Colleen

[Gail Norusis]

#22196

Hi Adele,
It is hard to decide what to get when you get a new tree. After the fiasco with the last more expensive one we decided to go with the cheaper models from the home improvement stores. It seems like the less bells and whistles the less can go wrong. I am happy with the ones that we have now. They may not be as big and full as the more expensive ones but they hold the ornaments and they light up so that’s all good.
I don’t burn candles anymore as I am afraid i will forget to blow them out and no one really pays attention to that stuff but me. I used to burn them all the time. Now i use the flameless candles all over. If I want the scent I use those wax burners that work off of electricity.
It’s hard to bake and decorate at the same time. Somethings got to give. That’s okay soon you will be baking up a storm.
Gotta get going and make a grocery list as I have to run to the store after I get my hair done. Going to get a cut and color this week and hilites next week.
Gail

[Gail Norusis]

#22199

Hi Colleen,
That’s funny about Owen and the reindeer. I guess it didn’t go with Melissa’s decor this year. lol Well, I don’t plan on giving away all my stuff just yet. I am just giving Jenny the things that are still nice that I think she might like. I did give her a village a few years back after I bought a different one. Kendall likes to set it up on their mantel.
You know i was the youngest child so I didn’t believe as long as other kids as I heard things from my older brother and sister. It didn’t matter as Christmas was still exciting and fun anyway. I loved to help put up the tree and decorate cookies and wrap gifts.
I’m looking now and I see my Victorian lady is an angel as she does have wings-she’s just a fancy angel with fur and a velvet dress. She has to go on my big tree. The tree with the Quacker ornaments doesn’t have a topper as it is smaller and the top is too thin to support one. I guess the Quacker home shows just did not sell enough to keep them going but they were fun. i also have a cake plate where you can change the decorations from Quacker.
Like the newscasters have to tell us that the government wastes money. If most businesses were run like the government they would be bankrupt but the government has an unlimited source of funds-the taxpayers. I have often said I wish I could track where every penny of our taxes go to see if they are being misused or not. You don’t mind paying for services rendered-it’s just all the waste that makes you mad. Oh well-can’t do much about it right now.
Rocky seems to be okay-knock wood. He’s a tough little guy. He loves now that he is older that I have been cooking chicken and beef for him and adding it to his food. I figure after all these years of love and devotion from him it can’t hurt to spark up his food a little bit and keep him interested in eating.
You must have missed where I posted that we are not going to the ONP event this year. We have gone for the last 5 or 6 years and there are so many other volunteers that can’t go because there is just nothing for them to do so we thought we would stay back this year and give two other people a chance to go and help. It’s really only fair. We have been lucky enough to volunteer for the last several years and now it’s time to give others a chance. The event is this Saturday. They will probably miss Buddy the Elf. lol
Gail

[adele shanbar]

#22217

Hi Colleen
the Chew did a segment on the Latke’s today. How funny they chose today to do it, when I am doing them tonight. Michael also did a fabulous recipe with cabbage, and dumplings that I am going to see if I can copy form the internet. My Latke’s are simple- potato, eggs, a little flour onion and tiny bit of garlic. I am also making those chocolate crinkle cookies today. I forgot the dough has to be refrigerated, so, I will be baking them shortly.
thank you for the information on Alzheimer’s. I am going to share it with Gary, because he feels so bad when he hears what his brother is doing. It helps to realize it is normal for the disease.
your granddaughter must be an absolute scream to be around. I love kids with some spunk.
well….better go and get the cookies formed….LOL
Adele

[adele shanbar]

#22219

Hi Gail
How is Rocky? I hope he is not having any affects from his fall.
read my post to Colleen about the things I am doing today, as I have to get my butt in gear. Forgot the cookie dough has to be refrigerated for 3 hours, and am now under the gun to get them done, and on to the Latke’s.
So, I am baking today! I really missed it. Makes the house friendly.

Happy Hanukkah to any of my Jewish Quackers! I hope they got those fabulous Hanukkah shirts this year!

Adele

[Colleen]

#22223

Hi Gail.
That is good that Rocky is okay. It is amazing some of the things that dogs can go thru and make it thru without any problems. That is nice that you are fixing things for him now that he is older. It is nice to be able to spoil them a little. We did not think that we would get to that point with Biskit yet and now I wish that we would have fixed some things for her. We put gravy on her food and did give her left overs once in awhile but that was about it. She was a good dog.
That is really nice that you are giving some other volunteers a chance to go to the event. That is such a good event and so nice for those kids and their families. It is nice that they give to the siblings also. Those kids suffer during this time just the children that are sick. I can imagine that Greg is going to miss his Elf suit. He may have to wear it around the house on Saturday just to feel better.lol Maybe someone will call and ask to borrow his suit. Now if something happens that they need more help will they call you and Greg or will the try to find someone else? I imagine that they will miss you as much as you will miss this event. You and Greg are so nice to do that every year.
I have boxes of ornaments that I am not using. They have been in the closet for a few years but they are not what the kids want. They might want them when they realize that I am going to throw them away if someone does not take them. We had some Cabbage patch ornaments and they did not even want them. They were the ones that picked them out and they still did not want them. Kaylee may want them after she gets her dolls for Christmas. My three older sisters did not tell me. They would even tell the kids at school not to tell me stuff like that. I found out by finding all of the boxed in the basement of our house. I was so sad when I found out but did not tell my mom for a long time. She knew because she saw me coming upstairs. I did not tell my brother either. My parents would have been upset with me. He knew anyway cause he knew that we did not believe.
I really liked that cake plate. I was going to get that but do not remember why that I did not. Don’t know if it sold out or what happened. It was so cute. That Angel sounds so pretty. I can see why you have her. Your trees sound really pretty. If I had room for a third tree I would just put all the ornaments that they kids had when they were young. I wonder if they would want them then.
I think that it would make us all mad if we knew how much money the gov. wastes. We just gave them too much money for years.
Well that is about all from here. Have a great night.
Colleen

[Colleen]

#22225

Hi Adele,
Sounds like you are really busy there. You usually are this time of year. You do so much baking for both holidays. That is just so nice that you celebrate both holidays. Do the kids all enjoy both holidays?
I have not watched the Chew yet. Will watch it later after Ron goes to bed. The one yesterday was okay but not one of my favorites. I do like the gifts that they are giving away. It would be nice to get some of the things they are giving away. Did you see they gave away an American Girl doll. That is so cool and they got a gift card for Target. Now that is the kind of the show that I like to go to. It is nice that they tell that the companies are giving the gifts to the audience and not them. There are some good companies in this country.
I hope that it helps Gary to know some of that. It is a hard disease. It effects everyone in the family.
Kaylee called me today. She has a crush on a boy. He is seven years old. She told me she had some news that was going to upset me. Then she told me that. I had to laugh. I told her she was too young to have a crush on a boy and she told me it is her crush not mine. He is an older man. He is seven and she is five. They met on the playground across from their house. I asked if he knew about the crush and she said that she had not told him. It was really funny. It did not matter what you said she would remind me it was her crush and not anyone elves. I just wonder what her dad will think. I bet he will think differently.This is so funny she is too young for this. lol
Sometimes simple is better. It would be nice to be able to keep it simple. Gary likes them and that is what is important. Sometimes the Chew makes things too complicated. They always talk about the ingredients that you should have around the house. Most of what they talk about I do not have. Some of it I have never heard of. It must be something that they find in their area. So it is easier to substitute.
Well that is about all from here. Have a good night.
Colleen

[Gail Norusis]

#22231

Hi Adele,
Hope the Hanukkah feast went well. Do you guys light a menorah? I hope the cookies turned out well even if they weren’t chilled for the whole three hours. That’s the thing about baking is that it’s so much more precise than regular cooking. I am enjoying that baking contest. The people are so creative! I am also watching the program before it which is the contest about people lighting their houses for Christmas. They really get into it and put so much time and effort into their lighting creations. However, it must be kind of a pain to live right next to one of those houses during the Christmas season. The cabbage and dumpling recipe sounds interesting-I will have to check out the web site as I missed the show the last couple of days. The decorating is moving slowly as I had a hair appointment this morning and after that I went to get some groceries. By the time I had everything all unpacked and put away I was too tired to do anything else.
I loved The Goldberg’s tonight with Beverly’s super Hanukkah. All the Wednesday comedies had good Christmas shows tonight. And Fresh Off the boat last night with the Chinese Santa-that’s why all the toys say made in China-that was a great line! You know Jessica from that show and Beverly from the Goldberg’s are a lot a like. Two controlling women who micro manage their families. I know many people prefer dramas but I am a big fan of sitcoms that make me laugh. Laughter just is good for the soul. Sometimes you have to find it through your tears.
Tell Gary Happy Hanukkah.
Gail

[Gail Norusis]

#22233

Hi Colleen,
Perhaps I will have to make Greg put on his Elf outfit and wear it around the house this year. Believe me they will have no shortage of volunteers. Everyone wants to come to the actual event and see the kids and the decorations and the festivities but they have to limit the volunteers so they don’t have too many with nothing to do. I wonder how many tons of candy they will have this year. The amount is just totally mind blowing and whatever doesn’t get used that day gets donated to other places. It is wonderful that the siblings of the sick child get gifts too. So often the siblings are unintentionally overlooked since so much energy is directed towards the sick child. The people going into this have no idea that at the end of the day each child will receive a pile of gifts. They think that they are just going there for a train ride and a day of holiday fun-most are blown away by the extent of the whole day. It was so much fun to see their surprised faces-mostly I think the parents are more overwhelmed than the kids are.
I have some boxes of antique ornaments that I no longer use but really don’t want to part with. Many of them came from my parents original tree-some from Greg’s tree and some I got at antique stores. I use a lot of those Thomas Paccone ornaments on my downstairs tree.
You know I can’t remember how I felt when I found out there was no Santa. I don’t know if I was sad or not. I can’t even remember how our kids felt-it obviously wasn’t that traumatic or I would remember it.
I saw one of those cake plates from Quacker on EBay just the other day. I haven’t used mine in awhile but once again it’s not something that I am ready to part with yet. So I guess I will just continue to store it in case I need it someday.
I have to babysit again on Friday as Jenny is going to get a couple of moles removed. She had one done about six months ago and now she has two more. I’m sure she’s okay but am relieved when she gets the report back from pathology saying everything is okay anyway. She has her Dad’s fair coloring so she has to be careful with any moles or skin discoloring. I wish I could get Greg to be more careful about using sunscreen.
Did you guys remember that Quacker was on today? One regular show and one on QVC+.
I hope things are going okay with Barbara. Seems like she hasn’t checked in since before Thanksgiving. I wonder how things are going with her MIL.
Gail

[adele shanbar]

#22260

Hi Colleen
That Kaylee is a riot! It is “her crush”…..LOL Last year JJ told us he had a girlfriend, and we nearly died laughing. I think it is a scream that these itty bitty kids think they are in love. It is cute. I love the looks on their faces when they talk about their girlfriend/boyfriend. these are the things we will remember most about them.
I did not like what they did on the Chew today. Nothing I would have tried to do. I did like the sauerkraut/cabbage thing from yesterday.
The cookies were a hit- the chocolate crackle ones.
I used that automatic potato peeler I got form the Q, and what a life saver that was! I love that gadget. I wash the potato’s, and let them completely dry, then peel them with the peeler. You only have to get a tiny bit off the top and bottom of the potato, and you can do it all sitting down. Then, I had to grate them in the food processor, and mix up the mixture- all done. Heather fried them for us, and she did a good job. So, I did not have to stand at the stove, which is hard for me.
We are very lucky we have daughters who help. I love that the grands help too. All my Minnions, as I call them.
the kids do like to celebrate both. the only ting missing, is that Gary does not do any of the prayers, or blessings. He has no clue what to do, accept eat the Latke’s. God bless him, he is the worst Jewish man I have ever seen. The kids here learned more about Hanukah in school, and did the dreidle (not sure of spelling) song, and he knew nothing of it. They were about JJ’s age when they did that. I think it is good to respect everyone’s religion, no matter if they practice it, or not.
Hope your day is going well.
Adele

[adele shanbar]

#22262

Hi Gail
We do light a menorah, for the entire 8 days. It is an electric one. I do not like the ones with candles, because the candles are very small, and tall, and not one Menorah I have ever seen holds them tight enough to be comfortable with lighting them. At least not for me. Of course, Gary doe snot know, nor do a the prayers that go with the lighting. We may as well say a Hail Mary when we light it every night. that man does not know anything connected with his religion. His brother is a lot more religious. One of our niece is very religious, and I wouldn’t be surprised, if their oldest daughter becomes a Rabbi. I enjoy it at my SIL’s when they do the prayers, and they are kind enough to include me with a piece, as well. I think this way- it does not matter how you pray, or what you call God, He is the same person we all pray to, no matter what, and as long as you do pray, that is all that matters.
the cookies came out great, with just 2 hours in the fridge. I was lucky! They were a big hit, so I will make them again. As popular as they are, I have never made them. Heather used to make them all the time, when she was married. Here is a funny one for you…….so, Heather come sin, and eats a cookie, and says, “It is not cooked enough”. I grabbed the tin and said, “No more cookies for you, if you complain.” LOL LOL You should have seen all their faces- everyone was laughing.
I loved the shows last night. I, like you, love to laugh. It is so good for the soul. Without laughter, how would we get through all the difficulties in life? Laughter is a gift from God, and there are a lot of people who do not see how important it is.
Thank you for the Hanukah wishes!
Hope you are having a good day.
Adele

[Barbara Smith]

#22277

Hello to my dear friends. Such a long time between our visits; but AGAIN this crazy computer has gone on the blink and Jerry finally got it to where I am able to get on here and hopefully talk to you all. I haven’t had a chance to read all of your news, will try to do that later, hope all is going well, so very sorry for your loss of Biskit Colleen. That I saw on my IPad but then I lost all contact with you all. Hope all else is well with you all. I remember all of you all and your families in my prayers, so just in case something is not going good, I will at least be able to do that for you. I know you all have been so busy decorating and baking and visiting. Sarah has started working her full time night shifts, and has been gone the last three nights. She seems to be adjusting so much better than I was able those many years ago. Course, I did have three children at home, plus the big kid, Jerry, and I would feel so guilty if I heard one of them laughing or the TV or something. Neal would throw open the bedroom door about whenever he could get away from Jerry for a minute (he was about 3 at the time) and throw open the bedroom door and just holler out to me “I have to go potty MaMa!” and then by that time Jerry would be saying loudly, “Neal, Don’t Wake MaMa UP!” ha ha I missed them so much. We would get up about 4 am on Christmas morning, so we could all be together to see what Santa had brought. I had to work so many Christmas days or even worse, the Eve and then would try so hard to stay awake but would have to be back at 7 that night. But we were young, and funny how you do what you have to do, and somehow it all works out. But to shorten this story; bottom line is that Jerry told me that he wanted me to find me a new computer, that this one is just used up. So, will keep my eyes open for some special deal. Any ideas that might help me make a choice?
Would you believe that we only have a little tree made from the tinsel things like an old timey tree, and I have my Ellen bird ornaments on it. I have candles in the bay windows, that come on later at night, and have a green light on the front porch to show support for the military and their families. But other than that, we are not a very decorated home this year. I do believe that we will do more this weekend. All of the children and their significant others will drop by and I am going to enlist their help in this project. I feel we will soon learn who is the Grinch and who are the decorators ha ha
Have been through some tension with the boys here recently. Jerry and I had our feelings hurt really badly the other day; and I have such mixed feelings about what happened that I am still lying awake nights going over this in my mind, and trying to keep Jerry calm and rational. Here is what happened. About a month ago the ceiling fan in Neals room quit. He and Jerry worked on it for a couple of days, with lots of agitation and aggrevation, until finally Jerry gave in and admitted they would have to have a new ceiling fan. Believe you me, it takes a long time for Jerry to admit he can’t fix something, but by the third day of reaching up over his head and handing tools to Neal, his back was in agony and he finally gave up. We could have had someone come in and replace it; but that would have been too easy. So here is where the pain came in. Jerry had offered at the beginning of finding out that the fan had quit working, to pay for half the cost, since Jerry wanted to be able to help chose the fan. But Neal said no, and we thought that he meant no, he had the fan taken care of. Well, he and Sarah go to the home store, pick out of fan of their choosing, bring it home, and he and Jerry install it. Well, now we forward to three days ago. Sarah hands money to Neal before she goes to work, and after she leaves, he hands it to me and says, “Mom here is the rent and some money for the utilities” I didn’t count it until later, but when I did it was $100 less than the 400 we charge them for rent; so I called upstairs and said I was afraid that the bank had shorted her on the money, because it was less. He said okay, he would be sure and check with her about this. Well, the next morning he ups and says to me, oh, yeah, I asked Sarah about the money and she said I had told her to only pay 300 because they had bought the ceiling fan. To say the air sucked out of me would be an understatement. I know that he did not tell her this or he would have said so the night before, that when he talked with her that she must have told him that they really didn’t owe us as much since they had bought that fan. I was so hurt that our son would not want to help me and Jerry, especially since he knows that they are so well off financially, and we are going through a hard time with the pension cut and all. But I just have to say, it hurt my heart in a way I thought I couldn’t be hurt. It’s probably just a part of this thing with Joey and Lisa, and all the tension we have been going through, but I have so many mixed emotions about this. We go out to the store all the time and buy things for them and never ask for a dime to pay us back. Help me girls, to try to understand this. Jerry of course, says if he had known we were going to be charged, that he had rather paid for the whole cost of the fan, and gotten what he wanted. Such a mess and so hard to keep it out of our minds. ‘
On a better note, I have on one of my Quacker shirts to cheer me up. It is a summer shirt, with short sleeves, has an ice cream come in sparkles on the front and it red. It is warm here today. Rain is in the forecast; so guess that explains the 70 degree weather.
Will close for now before this thing goes cold on me again. I think of you all every day, and am sending happy thoughts. Hugs, Barbara

[Colleen]

#22281

HI Gail,
It would be fun to just see the whole families faces when they walk in the doors and see everything. I bet at first it is over whelming. There is just so much. It must be such a joy for the sick kids and their siblings. What a blessing for the families. Wonder who started this whole thing. They must be very sharing people. All of you are. Doing all that you do.You just keep on giving and you and Greg do a lot even if you are not at the party. What a blessing for all of you and them.
I just remember when Danyielle found out. She went upstairs to her room and cried. We felt so bad but she got over it after awhile. She did not tell Mandy though. She let her keep believing. We still do not know what gave it away that morning when she opened one gift. I do not know if she had seen it before we had put it under the tree or what. She never told us and to this day has not said what happened that morning. I just went upstairs and hugged her and she hugged me and sat there with me for awhile and did not say anything.
It is scary when the kids have to have a mole removed or anything like that. One of my daughters had a tattoo. I worried after she got it was afraid that she would get some type of infection from the needle. Well not that she is older she has had it removed and that was not an easy task. So a lesson learned. We told her not to do it she would be sorry but you know kids. When they are on their own they are going to do some dumb things. I told them to wait until they get old and their tattoos start to sag. They will sag right along with the skin and it is not a pretty site. They laughed at me. They will find out. All these kids with tattoos. I know I have taken care of old men that had tattoos. Some of them you cannot tell what they are anymore. They have sagged that much.
Will say a prayer for Jenny that everything is okay.
I did watch the Quacker shows. Did not buy anything though. She had some cute things. I like the shirt with the three snow men that was on a blue shirt. I may get that one after Christmas.It can be worn all winter long. I have a pair of the jeans with the snow flakes on the one leg. They are really cute and they are pull up. No button and zip. I like them better. I also got a pair of the bleached denim with the sparkles on the bottom of the jeans. They are not as cute as the dark colors. The sparkles do not show up as well.
Well I better go. This is starting to look like a book. have a good night.
Colleen

[Colleen]

#22283

Hi Adele,
It is funny when little ones thing that they like each other. I cannot remember starting that young. It is just funny. They are so serious about the whole thing. They make me laugh. Then you can talk to them a week from now and they will not even like that kid. It is just life I guess. They do not seem to get mad at each other it is just over with and that is that.
That is so funny that you took the cookies away from Heather and told her no more. It had to make people laugh it is not like you to grab food from one of them. They may all start to watch what they say about your baking. You are just too funny. You made me smile with that one.
That is really nice that Gary’s family includes in the prayers and everything on their holidays. You do what you can to make things to take over when you go. You do not ask Gary to give up his religion and you do not expect him to join the Catholic church. So things worked out well and you do go with him to family dinners that are special to them. It is really nice. Are Gary’s kids religious? I guess that I said it right. You are right. We should all respect each others religion and not make fun of it.
Not much else going on here. We have a Christmas party to go to Saturday. It is for Ron’ s family and then we only have two more to go to after that. We are just party animals. lol The nieces and nephews on his side of the family always thought I was just the toy lady. I play games with the kids at the Christmas party. It keeps them busy and that way the adults can talk. So they are now getting use to me being their aunt again. It is funny we do not see them that much.
Well that is about all from here. Have a good night will talk to you later.
Colleen

[Colleen]

#22285

Hi Barbara,
It is hard to know what to do when you kids do stuff like that to you. They should have never done that without talking to you first. It is hard to know what to do though. You never know what to say or what to do. If you say too much it may just make things worse. That is a hard one. Just do not let it go for too long and start any type of trouble between the four of you. I hope that someone has a good idea on what to do. Sorry that I cannot help. Just hang in there Barbara things will get better. Maybe they will notice the tension and start to act different. I do not know. Just do not let it get you too upset.
It was rough losing Biskit but she is over the rainbow bridge and have fun playing with all the other dogs that all of us have lost. It is so hard to lose a dog that you have had and is a spoiled little thing. She was the first one of the two dogs to come up to us and when we would go outside. It is hard to go outside and not see her there at the door. She was such a good dog.
We have all of our decorations up now. Have to wrap my presents and get them under the tree. Every time I think that I have all my Santas out I find more. I found two more of the big ones and need to put them out somewhere. I also have the snoring santa. It is really cute. My sil gave us that because we have all the little ones. They all seem to like all of the Santas and like to see them all out.
Well nothing much else going on here. Just boring here most of the time. I will be praying for you and Jerry and that you get this whole thing worked out with Neal and Saras.
It is hard when your kids do that kind of things to you. It sure can cause tension.
Colleen

[Gail Norusis]

#22321

Hi Adele,
It’s funny that none of the traditions or prayers rubbed off on Gary at all. It is nice to have some sort of background on what one is celebrating. I agree about the electric menorah.Those real candles look too thin to stand upright for long. I also agree that it doesn’t matter what religious background that you are praying from as long as you are praying. Now if we could only get all those religious radicals to agree with that and that other people are not dangerous infidels maybe we could achieve real peace on earth. How you could think any God would want you to kill others and then yourself is beyond me. How nice that your niece may become a rabbi-it would be great to see female priests during our lifetime-and married clergy too-I think that would be a great step into the 21st century. Do the very orthodox Jews allow female rabbis I wonder?
I agree. You can be like the Soup Nazi-no cookies for you! if you complain.
Well, I hear Jane Treacy’s deceased mother trying to get into my house again. I should call her and tell her to come get her Mom. I guess that’s a little black humor but sometimes you just have to find some humor in the birdbrain’s antics and in Jane’s stories. I know many people dislike her for talking about her family alot but I really don’t mind. How many times can you say a shirt has 5 buttons or whatever-after all.
I love the shoes that are the TSV today. They are so comfy-some of my favorite shoes-I bought them in some different colors.
Piper has a fever today so I ended up not babysitting and we will probably stay home tonight. Since i can’t take the flu shot and take an immuno suppressive medicine I try to stay away when the kids are sick. Maybe I can get some decorating done instead.
Gail

[Gail Norusis]

#22323

Barbara,
I hope your computer continues to work until you can replace it. As to what happened with Neal and Sarah i have no idea why they did what they did. I am just as stumped as you guys and have no words of wisdom to offer. this might be one of those things that you just have to let slide in order to keep the peace. Please don’t lose sleep over this-you will just make yourself sick. Maybe Adele will have some insight into the situation but I am puzzled.
I hope that you all had a good Thanksgiving celebration together when everyone was off the following weekend.
We’re all here to support you Barbara. Sending hugs your way.
Gail

[Gail Norusis]

#22325

Hi Colleen,
It is fun to see the faces of the families when they walk into the ballroom and see it all decorated. When they are walking in all the firemen and the workers are all lined up and the families walk through the gauntlet off all these people clapping and cheering and high fiving. The expressions on their faces is total surprise. i will miss going but I’m glad someone else gets a chance. This particular charity was actually started by our friends Barb and Tim. She used to be a flight attendant for United and the first couple years we went to the airport for this but the logistics of getting all these people without tickets through security is a nightmare. After Barb was laid off from United she and Tim just started up their own charity which ended up being ONP and they changed the trip from going on an airplane to going on a train and every year it has grown from there-gotten more supporters and contributors. Every year they are able to service a larger amount of families.
I must admit our kids have tattoos. It certainly wasn’t my idea as I feel someday they might not want them anymore but they were adults when they got them. Jenny has a couple of little ones but Brent has lots of them all over. Actually Adam has quite a few too. This has taught me a lesson of not to judge people on their appearances. I would not want anyone to automatically pass judgement on my son or SIL because of the tattoos-as they are both good people. Another example of you cannot judge a book by it’s cover. I have learned that in the large scheme of things these cosmetic things like tattoos and piercings don’t tell anything about the quality of a person. I may not personally like them to look at but it doesn’t mean that there is anything wrong with the people who choose to have them. Sometimes it turns out to be just a fad but then of course you can’t get rid of the tattoos. I thought it was really hard to get rid of tattoos-your daughter was lucky that she was able to do that. Do they use lasers?
Well as of now Brent will not be moving back here. He applied for a new job in NM because he is seeing a new girl and now wants to stick around out there. I am not totally surprised by this. I kind of thought it may be coming. They may take a trip up here over the holidays just for a visit. I am not too disappointed. I just want him to be happy and have a stable job and be able to take care of himself. That’s what I want for Christmas, Santa.
Is it about another month until the baby comes? Can’t wait to find out what name they pick. I’ll bet you just can’t wait to see her and hold her. Is Owen ready to be a big brother? I wonder what he will think?
Gail

[Colleen]

#22330

Hi Gail,
They do use lasers when they remove them and she also had to have some surgery to get it off. It was hard for her to go thru but she did not want it anymore. There are a lot of good people that have tattoos. It is up to the person if they want one. I was just talking about what they look like after they get old. The skin starts sagging. Then the tattoos are not as pretty. I guess the kids do not think of things like that.
That must be so exciting to see all of the families coming in and seeing all of that. It would be fun to see them. I know that it will be hard on you not to be able to see them as they step in and see all that candy and all the decorations. That was such a good idea that your friends had. It is amazing how all of this keeps growing and more and more people get involved. We hear about all the bad things but no one talks about things like this. They should show this to other states. Maybe they would start something similar in other states.
I am sorry that Brent will not be moving back to be with you and Greg. Maybe he has found himself at a better place. It is hard when the kids move away but makes you feel better knowing that they are happy. I keep telling myself that about Melissa and Stephen. When he gets back they will have to move to another post. They have been at this one too long. I really hate that he has to go over seas again. It is the life the he chose and Melissa chose him so we have to live with it.
The baby will be here the 12th of January. We all just have a feeling that the baby is going to come earlier. She just looks like she is about ready to have the baby. We will see. It will be interesting to see what they will name the baby. Have you heard that some people are naming their children after the new text messaging. They were telling some of the things that they were using and now for the life I cannot remember what it was. That will really mess with some kids heads. The talked about it on the Chew. Then on another show they were talking about people naming their kids Saint. I had never heard of that before. That would be confusing for the kids. They cannot be saints unless they are chosen by the Pope and are canonized. This should be interesting. I do not know why they are talking about kids names but I guess that they are so new and different.
Well that is all from here. Have a good week-end.
Colleen

[adele shanbar]

#22332

Dearest Barbara
What a good friend, to pray for us, just in case something is happening. I also pray for all my Quacker friends every night, for whatever they are going through. Thank God we have each other. Thank God we have prayer.

I am so sorry your feelings were so hurt again. You do not deserve that.

Nobody can hurt us, like family can hurt us. Not a one. When our kids do something like that, it is like a knife to the heart. You have provided a home for them, at way less than they would have found elsewhere, including food, laundry, cable, phone, utilities, etc. The costs go on and on. It is the “cheapness” of it that bothers you the most. You do not count the money when you take care of them, or buy them gifts. I am sure you are very generous with presents, and always have been. That was just not necessary. When things become different for us, as they always are in retirement, those kind of hurtful gestures go deep. Mostly because of our situations. It feels like they are making a tally of what they feel they owe, not considering all that goes into providing a roof over their heads, and how their being in the house, costs you a lot more. Just not nice, or fair to you.

Some days I just do not get it. When we were younger, and we saw our parents struggle with health, abilities, or different financial situations, we wanted to give back for all that was given to us, without embarrassing them. I remember when my Dad was getting older, and I saw him struggling with putting in a screw. I knew his hands just could not do it anymore. He was a proud man. I got him an electric screw gun, that I said I saw and thought he would love. Not a word was a said about his waning abilities. He was so excited, and I remember his face to this day. It is one of the best things I ever did for him. That is what we expect from our kids. That kind of consideration and gratefulness is what we all deserve. Not cheapness.

By any chance, do you think it is more how Sarah was raised? What are her parents like? I always look for the reasons behind the behavior- makes me feel better to know the why of things, so I can move on.

All being said, I still agree with Gail. If you make an issue out of it. more damage occurs, and you get hurt more. Just look at me and Steph. I am ashamed to say, we have not spoken since Halloween. I did what I have told others for generations, not to do, in my private life, and professionally. So, where it is getting me? Nowhere. Once we get in the middle of these things, there is no easy way out. I did the “line in the sand”, and now, neither of us will cross it. We all lose. My Nonna is rolling in her grave about this family rift. Family is everything, and I let my love of Halloween come over the family. I am still not sure who is the guilty party- me, or her. No matter, we all lose. I do not know how Christmas will play itself out. Only 2 more weeks to go, and I do not feel like budging, as it has gone on too long. Any other time, when we have been in a little disagreement, I was always the one to stop it, whether I was me in the middle of it, or someone else. I always said that family is the most important, not these disagreements. Nothing is more important than family.

I have to tell you one more confession of my Halloween incident acting out. Although the house is decorated, and the tree is up, I did no decorate the tree. I just refused to do it. There is one lonely Angel sitting on top of the tree. I openly said that if JJ did not decorate the tree with me, it was not going to get done. So, that is my second line in the sand this Christmas. When Marissa and Amanda were here together this week, Marissa said, “Nan, what is up with the tree?” I simply replied, that JJ was not here to decorate it with me.

I hope my words have some comfort to you. You do not deserve to get into a family mess, nor do you deserve to have your feelings hurt. I guess my message is this….sometimes silence is the best. We can always be honest on here, and get the support of all of us, for the things that are said, and done, with no repercussions with our family members.

I hope you got a new computer. My only suggestion, is not to get an Apple. They have their own peculiar ways, and everyone I know who has one, is sorry.

Peace and love to you, my dear friend!
Adele

[adele shanbar]

#22335

Hey Gail
Whenever one of those terrorists do something awful and then end up dead, this is what I say, “So, today, when they go see Allah, and realize He belongs to all religions, what do you think they will say then?” I hope we live to see the day, when all religions realize we all have the same God, and all He wants is for us to get along with each other, and treat each other as we wish to be treated.
I do not know if Orthodox Jews allow female Rabbi’s. I would think that they do, but,, I have never asked that question.
Read my post to Barbara….the tree is still naked, accept for an Angel. I think I have lost my mind. Everything else is decorated to the hilt. The only other thing that is missing, is the garland on the stairs, only because we could not find it. So, I wonder if Steph has it? LOL LOL
Poor Piper! I hope it does not last long. Gary and I had our “over 65” flu shot. how funny is that, there is a special one for the elderly.
Still warm here. it is weird. I hope we don’t get blasted like we did last year, after January 1.
Next week I start wrapping. Amanda is coming over to help, on her day off. Love my Minnions!
Hope your day is going well.
Adele

[adele shanbar]

#22337

Colleen
Heather and Amanda have tattoos. Heather has 2 small ones on either shoulder. Amanda is more bold. She has a big bird on her arm, and intends to get one of those “sleeves”. We are all cringing. Steph has a “J.J. on her inner wrist, with a crown over it. That is it for tattoos here. I hate them too. I just feel they will be sorry when they are older. It is great that your daughter was able to get hers removed. I think the tattoo removal business is going to skyrocket in the next 20 years.
Gail is right- people cannot be judged by their body art, or piercings. The nastiest person can have none.

Gail
I bet you will miss the ONP party this year, even though you want to give the others a chance to do it.
I really hope this will be the one for Brent, and he is happy. he deserves it. What he went through is so terribly sad.

Have a good night, girls
Adele

[adele shanbar]

#22339

Hi Colleen
Gary’s kids are not religious at all. They are actually Protestant, like their mother. Tommy’s kids are both Catholic, and Julie’s son is also Catholic. (Julie is the one who died 2 years ago)
It is nice that Gary’s family includes me in their prayers. I like that.
too bad I did not have a picture of Heather’s face when I grabbed the cookie tin……LOL LOL everyone was laughing. She makes the same cookie, but her recipe is a little different. She makes good ones too. Maybe she will make a batch for Christmas this year, and we can have a contest.
I do so love hearing the stories of our grands. They are just too cute. I love how innocent they are. That is lost so fast, as they grow. Once they don’t believe in Santa, we are all done.
I miss all the Christmas parties I used to go to when I was working. We had an office party, then an in office monthly staff meeting with a pot luck, and Yankee Swap, a foster parent party, and one for my faster parent support group. Last, but not least, we had a unit one, that I used to host. That is the bad part of being retired. you miss a lot of office parties.
hope you have a good time at your party tomorrow!
Adele

[Gail Norusis]

#22346

Hi Colleen,
Wow the laser and surgery was a lot to go through to get the tattoo removed-she must have really wanted it gone. Now I’m thinking I suppose tattoo removal is not covered by insurance and it sounds like it could be costly. I agree-those tattoos will be saggy and wrinkly and not so attractive years from now but who thinks about stuff like that when they are 25. I know at that age I just thought I would be young and fit forever. Personally I am not crazy about the tattoos either but who listens to their mother about stuff like that. I guess I am just overly sensitive when someone makes judgements about people with tattoos though because of my own personal experience with my kids. I agree with Adele-25 or 30 years from now whoever has figured out a good way to remove the things will be a rich man or woman.
Well as I said I’m not totally surprised that Brent is thinking of staying in NM now. All I want is for him to find himself in a better place emotionally and if it takes him staying there so be it. I watched him struggle that first year and half or so-life for him was just kind of going through the motions and I just want him to find some sort of happiness and contentment and peace. If being out there is the best thing for him that’s the way it has to be. It is true about Stephen and Melissa-when you are in the army or any of the military you have to go where they send you. I guess he has been stationed in Missouri for quite a while now. I have no idea how or when they decide to move people around. Here’s a question-when they station you somewhere else does the army pay for you to move in terms of getting a truck and movers and such? That’s an interesting question. If Kim were still alive i could probably ask her since her Dad was in the Air Force and they lived all over.
I wonder if Danyielle will make it until the 12th. she probably looks so huge because she is tiny to begin with. We knew when Jenny’s kids were coming because they were all c sections. I didn’t know about the text message names. I read the other week that a lot of the real old fashioned names are coming back around again. Names seem to be cyclical. I did know about the name Saint as that was what Kim Kardashion and Kanye West named their new son. I understand that it was because Kim went through so much having the baby-so wouldn’t that make her the saint then? I thought I heard that she went through some procedure a few weeks before he was born to turn him around because he was breech. I didn’t know they even did that. Kendall was breech which was why all Jenny’s kids were c-sections but I suppose Kim K didn’t want the scar as it would show up in all her naked selfies. lol I never heard of a person taking as many pictures of them-self as Kim K does and yet she has followers galore who look at them all. I could care less what she and her crazy family does. Talk about a bunch of people getting rich from doing nothing. Only in America!
Boy we have had some warm weather so far this December. I hope we don’t get blasted later on. I think there’s an el nino or something right now causing the warm temps. Whatever it is I’ll take it!
Gail

[Gail Norusis]

#22348

Adele,
Thank you for your kind and thoughtful words to Barbara. I knew you would have some insight and I was just at a loss for words. (Unbelievable-I know-lol) You had some good explanations for their behavior. I guess I was kind of flabbergasted as it all seemed like such a petty thing to do to your parents who are providing a roof over your head and many other goods and services like you said. I guess we all think our kids would do anything for us like we would for them-but sometimes things don’t play out that way and we just don’t understand. I think the young don’t really appreciate the idea of their parents having a limited source of income-they just don’t “get” it. I guess because we are in such different stages of our lives.
I’ll bet that Stephanie has that garland just draped over the railing at her house and is giggling up her sleeve every time that she hears that you are looking for it. lol Maybe you could call her or text her and tell her that you are coming over to pick up JJ for the day so he can help you put the ornaments on the tree. Just a thought. At least you would get to see him then. Do Stephanie’s sisters have any influence over her? Could they talk her into making some concessions for the sake of family peace? All I know is these estrangements can end up lasting forever and then nobody wins.
I did not know that there were over 65 flu shots. I wonder which one Greg got. I do know that his blood sugar was up last check up so he needs to start keeping an eye on that again. It’s such a struggle to try and keep that down. He’s lucky that he can usually keep it down with diet and exercise and then he gets lax and it creeps up again. It’s a vicious cycle. winters are harder for him as he is less active too.
I wonder come spring what he will do about the boat since Brent isn’t coming back. He hardly used it at all last year so it’s hardly worth paying the money to keep it docked on the lake to only use it a couple of times. He wanted a lake home so bad but i just don’t think that will be in the cards for us anymore-so we’ll see. I’m not much of a fishing companion and getting in and out of the boat is a bigger chore every year.
I’m hoping to get my decorating finished this weekend. We have no parties this year either. We’re just boring. I think I’ve asked this before and I’ve forgotten the answer. What is a Yankee swap again? You’ll probably have to tell me every year. lol
Gail

[adele shanbar]

#22356

hi Gail
A Yankee swap is when everyone brings a present for the same cost. You put all the gifts in a pile, and numbers in a bowl, and pick out a number. Number 1 picks their gift first. From number 2, on, you can keep your gift, or take someone else’s. The last number gets to pick from all the gifts, so it is better to get a higher number. Then, at the end, number 1, who usually gets screwed the most (LOL) gets to pick from all the gifts for the one they want to keep. It is hysterical, as people who like their gift, try to hide it, so everyone forgets what they have.
You made me laugh about Steph having the missing garland….LOL
Heather went over to her house yesterday, for tea. We will have to see what happened. I did not hear from Heather. That can be either good, or not so good news. Amanda has been going to visit her, but Marissa is really mad about the whole thing, and has not been over to visit. Bobby is staying out of the line of fire, but, has called to ask about the gifts for the kids for Christmas. Tillie has not called, nor has Steph called Tillie, which is making my Mom real mad. We have 2 more weeks to come to some resolution. I am waiting to hear what happened yesterday with Heather.
It is odd not having all those holiday parties to attend. I was always getting ready for some party. Tomorrow, we are meeting 3 old friends for dinner, one of which just lost her husband.
I tried as best as I could to find words of comfort for Barbara. It is so hard when these things happen, as we all know. I hope it made her feel a little better, if, nothing else than we all go through this from time to time.
Hope you are having a good day!
Adele

[Gail Norusis]

#22388

Hi Adele,
It will be interesting to hear how the meeting with Heather and Steph went. I wonder why she doesn’t want to come over for family events. Even though she says that you have no food that she can eat that’s not really the important stuff. You would think that she would want her kids to spend some time on holidays with their extended family. Plus I’m assuming that it is not a long drive or anything like that. It would be a different story if that were the case. It really seems to me that some people thrive from creating conflict. Which is so beyond my realm of operation as I am a peace keeper sometimes to my own detriment.
How was your dinner with your friends. We went out to dinner last night to a new restaurant that just opened recently in town. It is so fascinating as it is in the building where I worked for seven years before we had kids. The business shut down about two years after I left and the building sat abandoned for quite a few years. It is an old building probably built around 1870 or so. Well a local entrepreneur has been slowly refurbishing it over the past 10-15 years and now there are a couple of businesses in there. Plus they now have two banquet rooms and a chapel for weddings and parties. They have artists studios and hold a 4th Friday open house ten months out of the year for people to come in and have cocktails and appetizers and browse the art studios. We know the son in law of the guy who owns the building and he told us last 4th Friday they had 1100 people which for a town like ours is a huge amount. I am always amazed at this guys vision of taking an old dilapidated building and turning it into a vital thriving center for entertainment. It just thrills me to see it. Anyway, the new restaurant was pretty good so I hope they are able to make a go of it.
Time to finish up the decorations so i can move on to other things. I hope I get it all done today. I have Greg barbecuing ribs for dinner.
Gail

[adele shanbar]

#22390

Hi Gail
Our dinner out is today. A late afternoon, so we miss the lunch and dinner crowds….LOL Here is a funny for today…..so, I put on some makeup. A little eye makeup- just a small line, where you would put on eye liner, some face makeup- now I use the tinted moisturizer from Clinique, as it looks mort unnatural. I think I look pretty god, and I ask Gary how I look. He starts squinting his eyes to look, and says he cannot see anything. So, either I have done such a great job that I just glow, without the look of any work, or it is useless to do anything at my age…..LOL
Life is just so funny as we get older. But, today I will sparkle with my new Quacker black shirt, with the big Christos tree on font. I have on my black crop animal pocket pants, that fit perfect as pants on me, and will put my black animal jacket over them. It is too hot for my Quacker Christmas scarf. Can you believe that in new England?????
Did you take any pics of that new restaurant? Sounds like that man is quite the visionary. Was the food as good as the place looked? There are a lot of people in this world who have so much talent.
Well. The visit with Steph went well, accept for her continued anger toward me. She asked Heather why she came over, and then told her it better not be about Christmas, because she has no intention of coming over here. So, I said to Heather,”Did you tell her she was no invited?” Heather said she did not, but did tell her she had no intention of speaking about the holidays, to which Steph had a very puzzled look on her face. She is waiting for me to cave, and call her, and I am waiting for an apology from her. Not. And so, it will continue. Mexican stand-offs have no winners. I have to say, this is the first one I have been involved in. I have always felt like is too short for these conflicts, and acted accordingly. When they go on too long, too much water accumulates under the bridge. When Steph did no come for Hanukah, and replied ,”LOL” to Heather’s request for her to bring JJ, that only angered me more. So, here we are today. All losers. Not a good place to be in, and my tree will remain un-decorated…..even though the rest of the house looks like the Mall….LOL The saga continues. (Tillie is more pissed than I am, as she has not called her, either, to see how she is.)
Hope your day is going well, and that you get your decorating finished.
Adele

[Colleen]

#22400

Hi Adele,
That is usually the way it is. The kids take the religion of the mother and not the dad.I wonder why that is. I guess the mom is the one that gets everyone to go to church and the dads are just more laid back. I guess that is why Gary did not keep up with his religion. His family did not and so he didn’t. It is funny that he married two women of a different religion then his. Well we know why he married you. You were really good for him. You try to keep him doing the things that are important to his faith. That takes a lot to do that. I bet his family appreciate it also.
That would have been a good picture. She must have been really surprised. Her mom taking cookies away from her. She should not have complained.lol Sounds like all of you have a good time when you are together.You all seem to have a sense of humor. Maybe not Steph. I am sorry that she still is not talking to you. She needs to get over it. She is really setting a bad example for the boys. It may be a mistake one day.
I would go with you looked so good that you looked natural. That has to be it and not your age. We are all young at heart so we are young looking. That’s my story and I am sticking to it. There are days I think that I look 100 and other days that I look 80 so neither time is good. I never feel like I look like a young chick anymore. Something happens after we turn 60.
We had a good time at the party yesterday. The great nieces and nephews have figured out that I am not just the toy lady but I am also their aunt. Even if they saw us out somewhere they would call me the toy lady. People probably thought that I was some kind of freak. I wore a quacker top yesterday and got a lot of compliments. I wore the black with the wise men and the nativity scene. I have a few other Christmas shirts but cannot find them. I am going to have to by new ones to replace them. I will wait until after Christmas now. I need to concentrate on Christmas now. We have to buy all of the food for the holiday.
I have to call QVC today. I ordered some of the chocolate covered pretzels and never received them. They were supposed to have sent them two weeks ago. We still have not received them. Hope he did not take them to the wrong house. They are for a Christmas for a friend. That is so aggravating.
Well that is about all from here. Have a good afternoon.
Colleen

[Colleen]

#22402

Hi Gail,
She has really gone thru some pain getting rid of that tattoo. Danyielle did surprise me when she got one. The other two would not have surprised me at all. I did not say who she was because she was getting rid of it but I do not think that she cares. She is very secretive of about everything. They are popular and there are a lot of young people that when they get old are going to have a lot of ugly tattoos.lol The only reason i know this is I took care of old people and saw what their tattoos looked like. There are a lot of soldiers and sailors that have them. I guess they got them during the war.
I agree if Brent finds happiness in NM he will be doing good. I hope that he gets a really good job. Kids these days do not have as much to pick from as we did when we were young. It is a shame that it is like that now. I feel sorry for a lot of the kids that have graduated from college. They cannot find jobs that they have been trained for. That is a shame. I hope whoever is president will concentrate in getting this country back on its feet.
Yes when they get transferred they do pack up your belonging and take it to the new base that you will be stationed at. It makes it nice that you do not have to that yourself. They do take some of their own personal things with them or things that they are afraid the movers will break. It is really nice that they pack things up for them to take with them. They will have a place ready for them when they move to the new place. That is where the furniture will be delivered. They are hoping that they will get a house at the new post they are transferred to. They may since Stephen is a sergeant now. I am not sure how that works.
That is nice when you know for sure when the kids will be delivered. It makes it easier and you do not have to wonder when they will be there. It will just be nice when the baby is here. We cannot wait. They still are not sure of what they are going to name her. They are stuck on a few names. So they are not telling anyone what they are. I guess they want to pick it without any help. I do not care as long it is not some weird name.She picked a good name for Owen so maybe she will be just as good with the little girl.
I do not understand why anyone would put naked selfies on the internet. They must really think that they are special. Seems like stalkers would come after them with the pictures on there. That would not be good. It is no secret where they live. I do not understand these younger kids.
The new restaurant where you live sound really nice. It is nice that he is refurbishing old buildings. We need to preserve these old buildings and stop knocking them down. They have stood for all these years so they must have been sturdy buildings. We went to Texas and ate a t jail they turned into a restaurant. You could sit at a table out in the dining room or you could eat in one of the cells. It was an interesting place. It was there for awhile and then the next time we went they were closed. It was a couple of years later. We have no idea what happened. What type of food do they have at this new place? I still sometime miss living in Rockford. It was a nice place to live.
That is really nice that they have stores in there for creative people. They need more of them. I wish they had some museums here. We have a space museum and a mine that you can go thru. That is about it. It is a shame.
Well that is about all from here. Have a good day.
Colleen

[adele shanbar]

#22406

Hi Colleen and Gail

Gail- I also hope that Brent finds a good job down there. He deserves a good, fresh start with happiness and enough money to be comfortable.
Who in the world took the naked selfies? They would pay us NOT to post ours, should we be so bold…..LOL

Colleen
It would have made a great picture of me and Heather, that we could have laughed at, for years.
Did I eve tell you my Mom had to sign papers with the Catholic Church that she would rise me Catholic, before she married my Dad? that was in 1948. Is that not a hoot? So, I was raised in my Dad’s religion, which is really unusual. It is usually the mother’s religion that dictates what the kids will be.
Had fun at dinner. It was nice to see them. Joanne just lost her husband this past summer. I know I spoke about going to see him when he was so sick, and then he died about a week later. very sad. The other couple was Joanne’s sister, Winnie and Al. We have been friends for about 20 years. It was nice to get together, and we have to see each other more regularly. Life goes by too fast. I got a compliment for the waitress on my sparkly Quacker outfit….LOL
It sounds like you had a good time yesterday, at your party. I enjoy getting together during the holiday season, it is so festive! We are becoming party animals. Tired party animals. I am pooped….LOL
Hope you had a good day!
Adele

[Gail Norusis]

#22415

Hi Adele,
I remember when a Catholic married a nonCatholic you had to promise to raise the children Catholic if you got married in the church. I think they still do that today. I don’t know if you sign a paper or not. That reminds me of something in our family. Even though Adam is not Catholic and he and Jenny didn’t get married in the church Jenny did have Kendall and Lachlan baptized Catholic. When Piper came along there was a new priest with a new set of rules who wanted the godparents to be able to prove that they were practicing Catholics which was impossible as Kim and Brent were to be her godparents and Kim was Pentecostal and Brent was baptized but not practicing. So now time has gone by and she has never been baptized because of those complications. I cannot understand why you would want to make it so difficult for parents to get their child baptized. If you truly had the child’s best interest at heart why would you not welcome them into the church whether the parents or godparents were practicing or not. It seems so anti what Christ would want. But i think it all comes down to dollars in the collection plate. Is that being jaded? However, even under the circumstances when I think about it I am still a little uncomfortable that she has not been baptized. At this point I would take a baptism in any religion. I know that is a bit superstitious but even though I disagree with many things the church does and don’t really practice the religion anymore I guess old habits and teachings die hard-and if anyone would ask me what religion I was I would still say Catholic. I know it shouldn’t bother me logically but it still does a little. Old beliefs die hard.
I think Gary couldn’t tell the difference because you are such a natural beauty. I know better than to ask Greg how I look. Why would I want the opinion of someone who has no fashion sense? I always say he would never notice if I came home from the beauty shop with bright purple hair and someday we are going to put that dye in and prove it. lol
We have had very warm weather too. So far I have not even broken out any of the Christmas sweaters-i have been wearing the Christmas tees instead. This is really my favorite time of year as I love all of my Christmas Quacker finery. I wear it all the way through January 6th-the feast of the Wisemen. Speaking of feasts isn’t it the Italians that do the seven fishes? Do you know what that entails? Plus do any other Nationalities do the oplatki around the table at Holidays. I really missed doing that all these many years so i ordered some from Amazon this year to have at the Christmas table. I know the Polish do it and I think the Lithuanians do it too-anyone else do something similar. An oplatki is like a big communion wafer. We used to each get a piece and you go around the table and each breaks off a piece of the other persons and wishes them good luck or happiness or whatever for the next year and then you eat the piece. It is like a communion wafer but it is a big rectangle. Last time I did that was at Greg’s parents house way back-I don’t think our kids even remember doing it so I am starting it up again. I am such a sentimental scmaltz. lol
I am glad that someone else’s house looks like the mall too with the lights and decor. I just about finished today-I still have some candles that I need to put batteries in and place around the house but all the major stuff is done. I also need to put the garland on the staircase railing (no I did not take yours.) Except I think i may substitute the garland this year with a light strand that I bought with the old fashioned looking large lights. I like to change some of the little things up from year to year so as not to get too boring with the decor. After everything was all done today i just sat in the family room and looked at all my sparkly lights. I don’t know why but I love that moment each year when everything is all in place and lit up. It gives me a feeling of such peace and joy like all is right with the world. Sometimes it really is the little things that count the most. I have a fiber optic Santa’s village, gingerbread house and poinsettia plant-when those things finally burn out I think they will be irreplacable as you just don’t see them anymore. It seems like about 10 years ago the fiber optic decorations were really popular and then they just faded away. You just don’t see them anymore. I also have a hand made ceramic tree, wreath and reindeer made by Greg’s Mom and two other ceramic trees that someone gave Greg’s Mom as a gift. Those are like family heirlooms now. A couple of years ago Greg broke one of the Christmas plates that his Mom made for me and i was so sad as those things are irreplaceable and even my husband the adhesive king could not put that particular Humpty Dumpty back together again.
Gail

[Gail Norusis]

#22417

Hi Colleen,
Sounds like you had another good Christmas party. Is that the one in the basement of the funeral home? I guess the kids are getting older and now realize that you are their aunt or great aunt and not just the toy lady. How fun it is to watch them all grow up.
I’m glad that they have movers to help them when they have to move. That is a lot of work-even for young people. Did Stephen decide to stay in the army and make a career out of it? In an unstable job market that could be a good decision. I know many people stay in for that very reason.
I know a lot of young couples do not like to share the baby names with other people before the baby is actually born. They don’t like too many people weighing in with their ideas. I was lucky as Jenny talked with me about their choices and let me weigh in with my opinion which I think actually counted for something too.
The new restaurant has a pretty small menu right now. There is a sandwich menu and the dinner menu is mostly steaks with one chicken dish. I think they will expand it a bit with time.
We have a restaurant in the next town over which is the old jailhouse and courthouse so you can have dinner in the cells too. The bar in that restaurant is the one that they show in the movie Groundhog Day and the bell tower that he jumps out of is really on the Opera House there that we go to for plays and concerts. When they show the town square and the gazebo all that stuff is really there-just like in the movie.
What are you having for Christmas dinner? I think I am going with the prime rib and a small ham again this year as the little ones would rather have the ham. I also will be using that mac and cheese and sweet potato casserole from the Q I think. Also right now I am thinking make ahead mashed potatoes,baked beans, cucumbers and sour cream, and fruit salad. Plus I usually set out snacks while we open presents-not sure what those will be yet.
Gail

[adele shanbar]

#22435

Hi Gail
Tillie did have to sign papers. I am not sure about now, though. I have the same issue going on over here. Neither JJ , nor Aizen have been baptized. I did the emergency one for JJ, when nobody was looking. I need to do it to Aizen too, accept now it is harder, because I just cannot gab him, and take him to the sink for the water. I also feel very uneasy about their not being baptized. I hope when they grow up, they will choose a religion themselves. Religion is so important. Not necessarily going to Church, but, following the beliefs, and praying.
That was an awful thing the priest did to your Piper. I also do not think Jesus would be happy about denying a child a baptism. What is wrong with him? I bet the Pope would not be happy about that, either.
I never heard of the oplatki. But the German’s use that to put cookies on and bake them- they call them o’blatten- not sure of the spelling. I tried to find some for the meringue cookies I make, and nobody had them. Could not find them on-line, because I think I am spelling it wrong. I am going to google your spelling, and see if it is the same.
Gary cannot even see the nose on his face. God bless him. He said he noticed I had gloss on my lips, once I made an issue out of it. I may as well give it up…..LOL
It was fun seeing our old friends. We did not go to an interesting place- only to the 99. Your venue sounded a lot more interesting, and decorative. I did get comments form the waitress, who loved my sparkly outfit. I was the only person in the entire restaurant in Christmas attire. What is up with that??????
I am attaching 2 pics I just took with my old phone of the last remaining 2 Christmas houses I made in ceramics. Also have a white tree, with green bulbs- did not take that one out, as I ran out of room. Plus, where I usually keep that one, is too accessible for a 2 year old. I got a tiny tree for that spot, that is more kid friendly for now. When he is older, the ceramic one will be resurrected.
Hope you are enjoying all your lights!. I know you have my garland……………. Can you believe it has not been located? I am hoping I can get 2 nice ones on sale in a week, for next year. Now, I will have to make all the bows again..
Forgot to say… so we are on the way home last night and Gary says, “Look, you cannot see if anyone’s tree is decorated or not- all you see is their lighted trees in the windows…..LOL
It is rainy here today! Took Heather to my back doctor this morning at 7:30. We had to go to a satellite office for her appointment as there was nothing left before the holidays for an appointment. She has a curve in the bottom of her back, and hip dysplasia. When she took in her groceries last week, she really hurt it, and it was killing her, all down one leg. they gave her prednisone to get the swelling down, and she has another apt in 3 weeks to see about an MRI, and possible shot. When she was little, she had one leg a lot shorter than the other, which caused scoliosis. She had surgery to lengthen the shorter side. They broke her hip in half, and took bone from the top of the hip, and grafted it into the hip, until it all “gelled together”, thus making that leg longer to match with her other leg. That is coming back to haunt us. Steph also had a shorter leg, but, we opted for the knee surgery, which slowed down the growth of the longer leg, so the other could catch up- a much simpler surgery and recovery. Heather was on crutches for 3 months.
Adele

[adele shanbar]

#22438

Here is the other one……

[Gail Norusis]

#22441

Never seen ones with all that snow on them like that. it’s cool. Let’s see if i can attach this link for the ONP story or not.

[Gail Norusis]

#22443

okay let’s try this
http://operationnorthpole.us7.list-manage.com/track/click?u=57ea80b7a767007fd34d8a8fc&id=e3e01dc22a&e=c08f39a58e

[Gail Norusis]

#22445

Okay, so if you click on this link it will take you to the story in the Chicago paper. i tried to put it on as an attachment but couldn’t. I have clicked on the link and it takes me to the story so it works.

[adele shanbar]

#22447

Hey Gail
the snow on the roof is glitter. After we were done, we painted the roofs with glue, and then did the glitter all over. All these years, and it has stayed. I made those in the late 70’s or early 80’s.
Did you not do that with yours? It way just what my teacher did with all of them, and a lot of the other holiday decorations too.
I am going to try that link.
Adele

[adele shanbar]

#22449

Hi Gail
I was able link, and read the piece on ONP. What a nice article. All the work you all do is fabulous. Making kids smile is what the holidays are all about. God bless all of you for the good work you are doing for the children!
Adele

[Colleen]

#22457

Hi Adele,
I am glad that you had a good time with your friends. My nephew called me tonight from NM and he is coming the week after Christmas so we are going to another dinner. We are not sure if he is coming here or if we will all meet at my mom’s. I told him it did not matter to me. We are retired what else do we have to do.lol So we will see what happens.
When Ron and I got married he had to promise that he would raise the kids Catholic. He told him that he can tell the children about his religion and later they can decide what they want to do.So that is what we did . Ron came to all the First Communions and the and confirmations. They would not Baptize one of my granddaughters. Well none of the kids are baptized. Even though I did a lot of work at the church he still would not do it. He said that the girls did not go to church and so he could not baptize them. I am like you this is about the children and not the parents. They need to change things around just a little. I use to take my older two grans to church with me but then it got hard to do that. Their mom would not have them ready and then I would miss Mass. So I had to stop. It is sad some of the rules that they have for the church. It hurts the kids and they are losing parishioners.
I really liked the pictures of the house that you made. I have some that my mom made and I have a couple that I need to paint. I have to find a ceramic shop again. They have closed all the ones that were in our area. I guess it is not as popular as it use to be. That is a shame. It gave a lot of people something to do. My mom and I use to really enjoy doing it.
I have four more people to buy for now for Christmas. Just when I thought I was done. Hope that I can find something that they will really like. I was thinking of getting some more of the track and the cars like I gave them a couple of years ago. The boys really seem to like it and he says that they still play with it. So will either get them that or some of the books about Dinosaurs and they can read them.We have to go to St. Louis Wednesday so will see if I can find the books then. Will have to order the track from QVC soon so they can get it here by Christmas.It is hard when stuff like this happens. Do not know what I will get my nephew and his wife though.
Well that is about all from here. Have a great night.
Colleen

[Colleen]

#22459

Hi Gail,
A lot of the kids are getting older and we are getting a lot of young ones now also. They will probably do better because they will hear the older kids call me aunt. It is a lot of fun doing the games with the kids. They have such a good time and it calms them down so they do not get into too much trouble.
Stephen has decided to stay in the Army. He said that he has a lot of time invested now and he might as well stay in for the 20 years. I think that they can retire after 20 years. He said he will still be young enough to work at another job and spend time with his family. I hope that it works out like he plans.
That is so cool that the place that they shot the movie Ground Hog is really there. It is nice that it looks like it did in the movie and will stay that way. We have been planning vacations for the next two years. We may come up that way because we want to go to Barabo Wisconsin and then go a little farther north. We have not been to the Circus museum for years. We use to love to go there with the kids and they could see the acts that they do there and a lot of fun things. We use to go every summer when we lived in Rockford. The kids use to love to go there. We have no idea exactly when we will go but it is in the works. Ron want to go to North Dakota and up in that area also. So that will be another trip. We still have all the animals that we have to worry about and would have to find someone to take care of them. Austin would not be bad. He can go down to Joe and Ruth’s and they can feed him there and he will come back home. The guineas are the problem. They have to be let out in the morning and back in at night. It is hard to ask someone to do that for you, You also have to make sure that they have food and water. They are getting really noisy now. They do not like people to come to the house and they make a lot of noise when they do. It is funny. They do not go after people though they just make a lot of noise and you know that they are on the place. Guineas are funny birds. Speaking of birds how is you Cardinal? Is he still beating himself up? That is the craziest bird. You would think that he would go away but he really likes you house.
We are having ham, spinach salad, cranberry salad, green beans, potato casserole, ambrosia salad,and corn. Then we will have the rolls and and some appetizers. We are going to make sausage balls, stuffed mushrooms or a mushroom dip. I got that recipe from the Chew. I think that it was one of Clinton Kelly’s recipes. I think that we are having too many salads but that is what the kids want. I have no idea what we are going to have for dessert. I hope that I spelled that right. Your dinner sounds really good. I think that Melissa is going to come up and help me make the Christmas dinner like she did for Thanksgiving. She is really into helping me lately. It really did surprise me. Guess she is growing up.
Only one of my grand kids are baptized. It is not right that they will not baptize them. They should be thinking of the kids and not of the parents. I wrote all about it in Adele’s post. I am not doing good at writing things over again. I am getting old and lazy is the problem.
How is Brent? Have you heard when he will be coming home for the holidays? I hope that he will get to come for a couple of days so you can see that he is alright. It will be nice to meet his new girlfriend. I hope that he finds happiness where he is and you can have some piece of mind. It is hard when one of your kids move so far away and you cannot see them or talk to them whenever you want. They are always busy doing other things.
Well that is about all from here. Have a good night.
Colleen

[Gail Norusis]

#22466

Hi Adele,
I’m glad that you could read the article. The parent’s reactions are really priceless and moving.
I never made any ceramics. The ones that I have were made by my MIL. I don’t have any buildings but the trees do have glitter on the tips of the branches.
You and Colleen and I are really sisters as we all have the same feelings on the kids lack of baptism. Old beliefs die hard and i just don’t understand why any religion would want to make it so hard for a child to be baptized.
Jenny called yesterday seeing if i wanted to babysit or not as Piper still has a low grade fever. I said i would rather change to doing it on Friday if that was the case and boy am I glad that i did. She ended up taking her to the doctor to get tested for influenza and they also did a strep test and that’s what she has The fact that she still had the low grade temp was what warned me to stay away. So now when I go Friday she will have been on meds for 48 hours as long as no one else gets it too. Don’t want that for the holidays for sure.
The spelling of your wafer is oblaten. I think you can google it and find places that sell it. interesting that you make cookies on top of them.
Gary is right. When you drive by the houses all you can really see on the trees is the lights. You would have to get up pretty close to see the ornaments.
You should be able to get a good deal on garland in a couple of weeks. That’s the time to buy the new stuff for next year if only I could remember where I put it by then.
Boy, Heather went through a lot with the leg when she was younger. By the time Steph had the same thing they probably learned a lot better ways of dealing with it.
A lot of people don’t wear Christmas stuff. They call them “ugly” Christmas sweaters. Personally I don’t care. The embellished shirts make me feel happy. If more people wore clothes like that it would brighten their day.
Gail

[adele shanbar]

#22468

Hi Colleen and Gail
Have to make this one quick, as I hurt that dam back in the middle of the night again. I am sitting here on ice, and have to get in the recliner to rest it.
What is wrong with the Catholic Church????? How can they deny a child, no matter what the parent does? We need to tell the Pope.
It is easy to do the glitter for snow- all you do is first finish all the painting. Then, you paint glue on where you want glitter, and keep pouring it on to cover it all. I used to love to go to ceramics.
So, Gail lives near the place they did that movie- I loved that movie!
I do get annoyed when they call them ugly sweaters- our stuff is beautiful. People need to glitter a little to feel happy.
Poor little Piper! So awful to when it is the holiday time. I hope the antibiotic works fast. You were lucky you did not go over.
Talk to you sisters later- going in the chair
Adele

[Gail Norusis]

#22470

Colleen,
A lot of people put their time into the military and then retire and go on to totally different careers. Some go to school on the GI bill after they are out which is a good idea too.
You, Adele and I are in the same boat with the kids and the baptisms. I wish they wouldn’t make it so hard-you would think they would want a child to be baptized no matter what the circumstances.
We haven’t been to Baraboo in years but we have been to the Dells more recently which is right next door. I can never remember-North Dakata has the Badlands right? i wanted to go there and to the Black Hills too. Of course those are all trips for the summertime. If you get up this way we definitely have to meet up somewhere.
It is hard having any kind of livestock-even guineas that need daily care. You can’t really take them to the pet sitter. lol Since you asked I must tell you that as I am writing the cardinal is banging against the window. Unbelievable that we have lived with this going on five years now.
Your Christmas dinner sounds yummy! I’m glad that Melissa will help.
I haven’t heard back yet from Brent about when or if he is coming. I hope I hear soon as I have to plan around his visit for some other things. You know sons are not as good as daughters at keeping in touch. I think if we ever moved away from Jenny that we would talk somehow every day but with Brent it can be every few weeks.
Gail

[Gail Norusis]

#22472

Adele,
Take care of that back my dear friend. There are lots of cookies still to be baked! Rest and ice.
Gail

[adele shanbar]

#22482

Hi Gail and Colleen

I took 2 Alleve’s, and did the ice 3 times. I also walked around with my floor Swiffer/mop, and that helped too. (not telling Gary that one, or he will freak out) Staying too still is not good, it is a balance. So far, that level of pain went away. I am not going to push it. Decided to amend dinner to the frozen chicken fingers, and fries. I will have Gary get the pans out of the oven, and put them in to cook. No bending/reaching today, that’s for sure.
Did you see the Holiday how last night? I am really enjoying it. I wished the had that on more than once a year.
I hope you hear form Brent soon on when he is coming back for the holidays.

Colleen’s Christmas dinner sounds quite yummy. I watched the Chew, with ice on my back. I loved the chicken casserole dish , and wrote that one down. Also loved the way Michael did the Prime rib. I do mine by rubbing it with salt and pepper, and putting some water in the bottom of the pan, and then baste occasionally. I like the idea of using some red wine and beef stock instead, and think I am going to try that on Christmas. I may even do the rub he did. I have to worry that Gary “does not like the taste” around here, so the rub may not be done. Also liked they got the one with bone in, and had the butcher cut off the bone, and used it for a rack…..and then ate the yummy ribs. I will have to think about this one…..LOL

hope everyone is good today. the rain stopped, and it is very blustery.
Adele

[Colleen]

#22485

Hi Adele,
I am sorry to hear that you hurt your back. You better take it easy for a couple of days. The Chew was interesting today. I did not write down any recipes. I will have to go back and look on the site to find what I want. They get to talking to people and forget to tell you some of the recipe. Then I have to wish that I had not deleted it from the dvr. It is good that they post that on the internet for dummies like me.lol
Ron will not eat anything with wine in it. He says that it makes it taste funny. I have a good come back for that but he would not appreciate it. Ron likes country cooking and I like different kinds. My mom was a good cook but she was not country like his mom was. So it is hard sometimes to fix things the way he likes them. His mom fried everything and it tasted really good. I very seldom fry anything. So he does not like mine as much. Except he has gotten use to it now. He sounds like he is similar to Gary. I would have to be careful with any type of rub that I put on anything.
No rain here today. Thank heaven we had enough the other day. Well that is about all from here please take care of your back.
Colleen

[Colleen]

#22487

Hi Gail,
If we make it up there this year I will let you know and we can figure out a place to meet. I really hope that we do it this year. He backs out a lot of the time and it is aggravating. This time I am going to make him stick to it. We need to see more of the country while we still can. I think that the bad lands are in North Dakota. I am not sure. Ron wants to go see some statue. So that is why we are thinking of going. It will be fun.
They do not even help you out if you do a lot of work in the church. They are not thinking when they do that. That is probably they lose so many people that use to help. I really wish that they would change some things. Guess that they will never will.
That would be interesting if we took the guineas to the pet sitter. I cannot imagine how we would transport those things. They are getting big now and are almost as big as wild turkeys. I cannot even imagine what type of place would take them to take care of them. I would not want to be that person.
They always say that a boy is not as good about doing things like that. I only had girls and do not know how it is with boys. Sometimes I hear from my girls too much. I have too much information and do not want to know all of it. lol
We have to go to St. Louis tomorrow. I do not want to make the trip. We have to take his truck in so they can take a picture of it for the insurance. I would not mind going in it but it is high up and I have trouble getting in and out of it. I can just see me in the parking lot of the insurance office and falling on my backside trying to get out or into the truck. I hope that they do not take a picture of that. Wouldn’t that be pretty.
Have you heard anything from Debbie? She has been gone for awhile again. Hope she will feel like coming on again soon. well that is about all from here have a good night.
Colleen

[Gail Norusis]

#22495

Hi Adele,
Hope the back is better today. I missed the chicken casserole recipe. I will look it up on the website. I’m kind of with Gary on the taste thing. I stay away from rubs because sometimes there’s one taste in there that just doesn’t appeal to me and then that ruins the whole thing. I use Lawry’s seasoned salt and fresh ground pepper on everything and will only add something else if I know that it’s a taste I like. The wine and broth with the prime rib sound good. I like the taste of wine with food-of course I like the taste of wine without food too. lol
I did watch the Holiday baking show-also the holiday house decorating show too. Those people really go all out.
I’m glad that you like Groundhog Day. When you see the movie you can picture us in all those buildings and walking around that square as we do things over in that town all the time. I think Adam proposed to Jenny in that Gazebo when it was all lit up for Christmas. We will be eating dinner in that bar/restaurant next week and going to attend a concert in that Opera House where he tries to jump off the bell tower. Our friend and her daughter were extras in the movie and she was also the lighting stand in for Andi McDowell.
So far I am behind in my Holiday movie watching as I always like to watch repeats of Elf, Christmas Vacation The Santa Claus movies-all the contemporary holiday movies and the old ones too. I usually watch while I wrap but I haven’t started yet. Gotta get going. Have a rheumatologist check up today so gotta get moving.
Gail

[Gail Norusis]

#22497

Hi Colleen,
Maybe it’s Mount Rushmore that Ron wants to see. I haven’t seen that yet either and would like to see it. I like road trips if you have the time off to do that. One of my favorite trips was when we took two weeks and drove to NM. We had time to see things along the way. It was a great trip.
I didn’t realize that the guineas got as big as wild turkeys-that is a pretty good sized bird then. Are they in the pen all day or just during the night. Years ago we kept chickens. That was nice having the fresh eggs. Sometimes Jenny has some extras from her inlaw’s farm that she will give to us.
You will have to do what I do when I would have to go in Brent’s car. He has some kind of SUV and it’s way too high for me. So I would bring a step stool and he would have to put it down for me to get in or out of his car and then come pick it up and put it in the back seat. If we didn’t need his car and it was just me and him going somewhere I would just have him drive my car instead.
I have not heard from Debbie since the last time that she posted here. I know it’s hard for her to type with the way she has to hold her head to do it. I feel so bad that she is going through all of this. I wonder if she will ever find any relief. I wish there could be a cure. She was always so happy and funny and now she is lucky to have a good day. Sometimes life is so hard and no one knows why these bad things happen to people.
That’s funny about sometimes daughters giving too much information. You never have to worry about that with sons or sometimes even with husbands.
That must have been hard for Ron to go from eating all that fried food and then giving it up. It’s probably better for him health wise not to have everything fried though. I think a lot of southern foods are heavy on the frying. I guess we do some of each baking ,frying and grilling. We kind of mix it up. Last night I made some vegetable beef soup-for some reason that really hit the spot. I think we will reheat it for tonight and make some of those Hawaiian Roll ham sandwiches to go with it. Those are so good!
Gotta get ready for doctor’s appointment. it’s always one of us isn’t it.
Gail

[Colleen]

#22525

Hi Gail,
It could be.I will have to ask him again. Will wait until I am off here or he will make an hour conversation out of it. He has really turned into a chatty Kathy here lately. Do not know why. He always wait until I am on here or I am watching something on tv. So then I have to pause everything and go back and see what I missed. He is funny in his old age. He needs a job. Oh he has a new thing now. He thinks that the freezer runs too much. So when I hear it running I should go over and open it and then shut the door. I thought okay what ever. I have not idea what good that is doing and I never do that but as long as he thinks I do I guess he will be happy. He does it enough for both of us. At least he is not feeling the side all the time. Now people think he is just looking for something in the freezer.
It is hard to get in and out of those SUVs and trucks that are high up off the ground. You are shorter then I am so I can imagine the trouble you have getting in and out. I can slide out of the truck but have to be careful or will slide too far. Sounds like it is a good idea to let him drive your car and not go in his. It is a lot easier on you that way.
Did you and Greg eat about the same things when you were kids or did he have to adjust to your way of cooking? The one thing that was hard for me was frying squirrel and rabbit. There are a lot of things that you have to know like to take the shot out of the animal before you cook it. It will not explode but it does hurt a persons teeth if they bite into it. My bil found that out. When ever I fixed fried wild meat he always examines it before taking a bite. I did not know you never get any of that in meat you buy at the store.
I miss Debbie she is really funny. We had such a good time with her on here. Maybe she will find a way to be on here with us without any pain.
I hope that things go well for you at the rheumatologist today. It seems like we spend most of our time at the doctors now. Did not seem like that was the case when we all first starting chatting. I cannot even remember how long it has been. Have seen a lot of people go thru this site. Guess a lot of them went to face book.
Well that is about all from here. Have a good night.
Colleen

[Gail Norusis]

#22534

Hi Colleen,
That Ron can find some interesting things to worry about. I sure don’t know either what opening and closing the door does. I think the men are worse in the winter when they are stuck inside more. At least Greg is.
I think that Greg and I ate basically the same things as kids but they never served things like asparagus or cauliflower or brussel sprouts or seafood in their house. I think my mother was a much more adventurous cook than his. We tried a lot more different things in our house. I asked Greg’s sister and the reason that their Mom stuffed the turkey with meatloaf was because she did not like stuffing. Greg’s sister said she herself still does not like it but i think that’s because she didn’t grow up eating it and won’t even try it now because she thinks she doesn’t like it. Greg of course was served it living with me and he loves it now. When we were first married I made the turkey stuffed with meatloaf for him but discovered that I much preferred the bread stuffing so I ditched doing that early on. I figured that you can have meatloaf any old time-with or without a turkey. We never had wild game as kids and I don’t think either of us has ever eaten squirrel or raccoon-and personally I think that’s something both of us can easily live without. I remember my Dad and brother going pheasant hunting but don’t remember if they ever brought anything home. I do know that you have to take the shot out of wild game but would have no idea how. I think the wildest thing that we ate was fresh caught fish and we don’t even do that anymore as Greg always fishes catch and release except for some fish from Canada. That must have been a shock to you the first time Ron presented you with a squirrel. I guess if you grew up eating that it’s no big deal and lots of people lived off the land and ate what they hunted for but if you didn’t grow up that way it would be different.
My doctor visit was good. We spent most of the time telling jokes and talking about Seinfeld episodes. I love my rheumatologist! It’s hard to believe that I have had RA for 20 years. I believe I was first diagnosed in my mid forties. I am lucky that I respond so well to the meds and am pain free 90% of the time.
Gosh Colleen-I think I came on here in June of 2010 so it has been 5 and 1/2 years for me and you were here before me. You and Sue and Debra and Debbie and Nancy were already here-although I think that Debbie came on right before me and then Barbara came on shortly after it seems. And there was a lady from the Finger Lakes region of New York was it Charlene? Something with a C I think -then there was the lady that did lots of crocheting can’t remember her name right now. And Cynthia has been on and off for a few years. I think I came on right after the site had been cleaned up from lots of spammers or something that was going on here. And then of course there were tons of people who came on briefly right after Jeanne died. Do you keep in contact with any of the people from before the board was shut down from all that spam that time? i just kind of remember someone that called herself MardiGrass Lady or something like that but I never really knew her.
Tomorrow night is Lachlan’s preschool Christmas concert. That’s always good for some chuckles. lol
Gail

[Barbara Smith]

#22552

Happy Holidays to All. As usual, lots of goings on around here. I must admit, there really is never a dull moment. Bet you all are ready for the big guy to make his appearance. I finally put up this little tinsel tree with bird ornaments on it and some of those tiny lights. It is small, but really does look pretty. Jerry and I just sit and watch it at night, and do a lot of reminiscing. I have a funny story for you all. We decided to take all the kids and wives out to dinner for a Christmas family sit down so Jerry asks Neal about his and Sarahs schedule, and Joey about his and Lisas. Well, Neal goes says, why do you all want to do that? and of course, I just said I thought it would be nice. So off the two of them go to a holiday party and we think nothing more of it. But then about two hours later the phone rings, and it is Neal, and he says, “Now why exactly do you all want to meet with us at dinner one night all of a sudden?” “Has something bad happened and you and Dad just need to get us all together to talk?” I assured him all is fine, and then he says really serious like, “you all are not about to move in an old folks home or something like that are you?” I realized then that he really was worried, and I said for goodness sakes son, we just want to have a nice meal together all of us during this busy holiday season. He said again, “you’re sure?” and I said yes, so he said okay, we will check about our schedules. Jerry was listening, and when I hung up he said to me, what in the world was THAT all about? I have to admit I had to laugh, and said we might better try to start moving a little faster, our son thinks we are considering going to the retirement community to live out our days! He is the only one I still have not bought for Christmas. Gosh, they just seem to have everything. I asked Joey to help me think of something, and he is stumped too. So I am hoping something just pops up. Have you all finished all you had to do? I made a batch of butter cookies (not fancy as yours Adele) and put them in our neighbors mailboxes yesterday in those little ribbon tie bags. Everyone called and said they are good. Jerry does his Dads eggnog recipe this time of year too so that is his job for this weekend. He used liquor in it, and although I am not much of a drinker, I do love this eggnog. So hopefully, there will be a good nights sleep that night.
Sarah is having a hard time adjusting to working nights. She does better if her shifts all are in a row; but this week, she worked Monday night and was off until tonight and tomorrow night. But she absolutely loves working for St. Jude. You all may have heard of it; the famous cancer hospital for children. It is so well known all over the world. She also still works part time at her other job. Speaking of her; Jerry and I were just coming in from the grocery store the other day, and she offered to help. Jerry told her that he had it and then not five minutes later, Neal walks in the patio door and what does Jerry do but say “there is a lot left to bring in son” and I overhear her say to Neal, “I offered and he told ME no” I could have just bopped Jerry. He thinks our boys should just drop everything, and he is already mad at her for not helping me (and this it the honest truth, she doesn’t raise her hand still) but I feel it just plays right into her way of drawing Neal away from us by his doing this. I got all over him when they went upstairs, and told him, if you would not say anything, and just wait and see if he offers to help, and then if he does then fine, and if he doesn’t then fine, but in his turning her down and then asking Neal to help, that this is wrong. Am I making sense? I have searched my heart so long and hard, and I really know we have been good to them, but Jerry can be such a pill himself that he just throws gas on an already burning fire by what he does.
Colleen, I still say Jerry and Ron are kindred spirits. Jerrys thing is close the door. He can leave it open and no one says a word, but he is forever saying “close the door” It is like everyone has to rush in to keep every bug in the world from coming in. One day he actually said a mouse was going to run in when Joey came inside. I have been steering clear of him since he has been watching the debates. That stuff really stirs him up ha ha. But I have to admit that there have been so many horrible things happening in this country that I am concerned myself for all of our welfare. God help us and our country.
We put the Christmas outfits on the dogs and on Auto Kitty. Auto kitty had a mad fit. He pouted for hours. He finally got hungry and came around to us again. He reminds me of that grumpy kitty cat.
I too was thinking of all our friends we have met on here, Gail. We have been on this site for many years now and I hope we are for many years to come. I feel so close to you all, and love to read your stories, I feel I am right there with you. Wish I could come on more often. Mabey a new computer will help me. I am trying to hold out until after the holidays; so they may put some on sale. I know they will begin doing a big clothing sale after the holidays. Oh, by the way Gail, I too am wearing a Christmas outfit each day. Even if we just sit here I like to have one on. I miss Debbie, hope she is okay. How is Christine doing with her puppy dog? He was so lucky to find such a loving home. I had Joey take my old blankets and towels and some food and doggie and kitty treats to the shelter. I just can’t bare to go myself, it makes me too sad. But I so hope it brings the little animals some comfort.
Take care all, and enjoy your family time together. Peace and love in and among our family would be the greatest gift I could receive (along with good health for everyone of course). Talk to you all as soon as I can. Hugs Barbara

[adele shanbar]

#22554

Hi Colleen
The back is better. Thank God, as it will be a busy week. I wrapped gifts all day yesterday, and got it all done. I love those bags I got form the Q- the ones you just pull the string, and it makes a pretty ruffle on top- ne need for even tissue paper. It makes wrapping a lot easier. I just wish they had more extra large bags in each pack, or you could buy just large bags, as you use those the most. I like to put multiple things in each bag, so there is less to find under the tree- with 13 people it gets confusing. everything us under the tree. Yahoo!
My gift for myself came today. On the In the kitchen with Dave show Sunday, they had a fabulous Temptations set I got for myself. I already had a 11×13 baker, but you always need 2 of those. the oval casserole is smaller then the one I bought, so I can use that for smaller dishes. Also had a set of bowls, and little prep bowls, that are actually measuring cups. All pieces are in the dishwasher, and ready for me to purge the cabinets, and decide where these will go. Heather will get the pieces I get rid of….LOL She is happy too…..LOL
I told Bobby about the Chew recipe for prime rib, and he did not like it at all. he said holy wants salt and pepper on his perm rib, as it comes out great.. he doe snot want me to use the wine in the bottom either. I was surprised by that, as he always likes to “joosh it up”.
I rarely fry anything. Bobby does the chicken cutlets every once in a while, and everyone is thrilled. We just could not have all that fat a lot, as it is not good for you. I love to bake my meals, or crock pot in the winter.
It is gross here today. Gong to pour shortly. At least it is not freezing.
hope your day is going well.
Adele

[adele shanbar]

#22556

Hi Gail
Now, I am going to have to watch Groundhog Day again, as I have a new reason to see it!
I got “nixed” on the prime rib recipe. Bobby was not in favor of that one at all, he said mine tastes great with just the salt and pepper on it. We only have it on Christmas, so he does not want to fudge abound with what’s already good. As we will be having less people, if the meat is too big, I will cut some off, and maybe try it that one just for us on a Sunday. We get ours at BJ’s, because they have huge pieces, and it is Angus beef. I don’t even want to know what this year’s price will be- it is always way over 100.00. But, this year I can cut off a significant piece, if the group stays smaller….you never know around here this year. So far, there will be 9, instead of 13 for dinner.
I hope your doctor appointment goes well, and you get good news today.
I met my friend Nancy and Gerald for brunch. Gerald just retired, and found out his daughter is pregnant. (he took over my job when I retired) This will be his first grandchild, and he is thrilled.
Got all my wrapping done yesterday, and the back is good again- thank God!
Hope you are having a good day!
Adele

[adele shanbar]

#22558

Hi Barbara
That story about going out to dinner was hysterical. That speaks to his biggest fear about you and Jerry, that something will happen to either of you. I think all our kids get a little freaked out, when they realize, even for a moment, that life is not forever. You really scared the be-Jesus out of them…..LOL
I bet Jerry said no to Sarah because she is a woman, and expected your son to get right out there, when she told him you were outside with groceries. Fathers feel their sons need to have ESP, where they are convolved. Gary would have done the same, exact thing. Men have a way of putting gas on the fire, as they say. Happens here all the time.
I will bet your cookies taste as good as mine, or better! Your neighbors are lucky to have you on their street. You made their day, my dear. Everyone loves a good cookie.
by any chance, did you gate a pic of the dogs and kitty in their holiday finest? I would have loved to see that one. Cats hate that kind of stuff. It must have been funny.
Sarah’s changing schedule will wreak havoc on her inner clock. that is not easy. I hope it does not sour her mood.
So, here the Bake-a-thon starts on Sunday. It will be funny, especially if they interfere with my cookie schedule. I have it posted here, on the kitchen table. LOl, or should I say, Ho, Ho ,Ho?
hope you are having a good day…..and I agree, this world is scary, very scary. The debates are capitalizing on people’s fears, so are their commercials.
Happy preparations to all!
Adele

[Colleen]

#22587

Hi Gail,
One good thing now with Ron the freezer is his main concern. He does not worry about the fridge. I think that I am going to have to find a job to get out of the house for awhile. That way he can open the freezer door all he wants and I will not be here. He is trying to get me to do it also. I will get right on that.lol Can you imagine how much more that freezer will be running if we keep opening and shutting the door. Men what can you do with them.
It is interesting the different ways that people like their turkey. I guess there are a lot of different dressings also. I just have never heard of anyone stuffing their turkey with meat loaf. I wonder what it taste like. That sure would be different. Do they do something special to the meatloaf before they put it in the turkey? Seems like that would be hard to get the meat inside the turkey to cook all the way thru.
It was strange for me to eat squirrel. I had called my mom and asked her if she knew how to fix wild animals like that and she told me no and she did not want to know. I knew then that they would never eat anything like that if they came to my house. His family thought it was strange that I did not know how to cook anything like that. So it was different. His mom did teach me how to make chicken and dumplings so that was good. We have had them a lot. Now you can buy the ready made dumplings at the store and that is even easier. Every once in awhile Ron will want the homemade ones and we will do that. Have to humor him sometimes.
I am glad that you had a good doctor visit. It is nice when you can go to the doctor and laugh and joke around. That makes you feel a lot more at ease when you are in there. That is what I liked about my old doctor. I knew about his family and he knew about mine and we could talk about family. That always breaks the ice. So that is partly why I liked him and did not want to start with a new doctor. Most of my family went to my old doctor. Melissa was still at home when we were going to him so he saw her and Mandy and her husband went to see him also. So he took care if all of us at one time. Danyielle was the only one that did not go to him.
I know that when I came on here there was Sue and Diane that was Mardigrass Lady.I am not sure when Debbie started or Nancy. I think that Nancy started way before Debra. I am not sure though. I do know that most of the woman that were on here when I first came on here left and have never come back. I do not remember Charlene.I am not good with names though.I think this group that is here now has stayed on longer then any other group. I think that most of them went to face book.
Well that is about all from here. Have a good week-end. Hope you hear from Brent soon and that he is coming home for Christmas.
How is Piper? Hope she is feeling better and that what she had is not spreading all thru the family.
Colleen

[Colleen]

#22589

Hi Barbara,
That is funny about Neal. You will be afraid to ask them to go out to dinner ever again. He was really worried. The poor guy. You never know what kids are going to think Even at their age they can get some weird ideas. I am glad that you finally convinced him that you just wanted to go to dinner with them and his brother. I hope that Joey did not have the same reaction. You are going to have to go out to dinner more often.
I am giving gift cards this year. I do not give them as much when they just want money because it is hard to how much to give each one. So they all get the same amount. So it is six people that get a gift card and they have to be the same. So no one gets their feelings hurt. Next year they are going to all have to think of a gift that they want because i am not doing gift cards again. The tree looks bare. There is nothing under there for them. Just little gift bags with cards in them. Only two of the grand kids told me that they wanted a certain thing for Christmas so they got presents. It is much nicer.
St. Jude is a really good hospital. They really do a lot of the kids and their families. It is nice that they never turn a child away. They take them all in no matter the ability of the parents to pay. We use to collect for them when we were kids. It would be hard to work nights. I never did like that either. You never get enough rest. That is a very good job and hard to dowith all the sick children there. I hope that she can work there for a long time.
Christine is having a lot of trouble with her heel. She has been going to the doctor about it for 8 months. They are supposed to start to give her shots in her heel but she does not know when. She loves that new puppy that she has. He is really a cute dog. There was a picture of him on here the other day but do not know what happened to it.
We sure have made some good friends on here and hope to keep all of us together for a long time. Well that is about all from here. Have a good night and Merry Christmas!
Colleen

[Colleen]

#22591

Hi Adele,
I do not have one package wrapped yet. I need to get all of that done. So you are a lot further along then I am. I need to get those bags. They look really nice on the show but have never ordered them. I am glad to hear someones opinion of them. Hopefully they will have them again next year and then we can order some.
I am glad to hear that your back is better. Do not over do it though or it will be hurting again. Just be sure and rest in between doing things. That is what my back doctor tells me all the time. Well you already know not to try and clean the whole house in one day. I tried that once and got my back really hurting. Sometimes I do not think before I do something. I do the same thing when I exercise. I try to keep going thinking that the pain will work out if I keep going. Well that is wrong also. It just hurts the injured area. It is not easy getting old.
Sounds like you bought a nice gift for you for Christmas. Ron has really shocked me this year. He has two gifts for me under the tree. I know what the one is it is a purse. He had me pick it out. So that was alright so it will be a surprise when I open the other box. I hope that it is not something refurbished that will cause problems.lol
That is surprising that Bobby does not want you to do that to the meat. He is the one that likes to cook and is kind of like a chef. Maybe he should cook it this year and you can see what he wants to do with it. That could be interesting. Does he ever cook Christmas dinner or do you always do it? Your meal sounds good. We do not usually have ham on Christmas but this year the girls wanted it so that is what we are going to have.
That set of Temptations sounds really nice. I like the oval baking dishes. Temptations dishes are easy to clean and they go in the dish washer. That really makes them nice. I have one small set of them and the food does not stick in the dishes like they do some of the other baking dishes that I have had. I hope that you get a lot of use out of them.
It is cold here. It has been all week. Next week it is supposed to be up in the upper 50′ and 60’s. It is going to be 60 on Christmas day. I hope that they are wrong. They house will be too warm with all the cooking. It is surprising that you do not have any snow yet this year. They say that it will be colder in January thru March. I hope that we do get some cold weather. We need something to get rid of all the lady bugs.
Well that is about all from here. Have a good night.
Colleen

[Gail Norusis]

#22595

Hi Barbara,
Well I hope after all the confusion that the kids enjoy their dinner out with you guys. It’s too bad that the invitation got them all panicky. I guess you’ll have to go out with them more often.
How nice of you to make and deliver cookies to the neighbors. You are such a kind soul. I hope that you will be enjoying a little of Jerry’s eggnog this weekend.
I guess it would have been a good idea for Jerry to accept Sarah’s offer of help. By not doing so he was kind of sending her a mixed message. Men are just not good at the subtleties of life sometime. I constantly am reminding Greg not to tease Kendall in certain ways as she is quite sensitive. I see Marlo Thomas on the Today show a lot talking about Saint Judes. And sometimes they show segments on different children who go there for treatment. They remind me of some of the ONP kids. I usually end up in tears watching the stories of some of those terribly sick little kids. It would be both sad and tremendously rewarding to work there I imagine. I’m glad that Sarah’s liking it.
I wish you did have a picture of your pets in their Christmas finery. Poor Auto Kitty-I guess you bruised his dignity.
It’s so nice picturing us all celebrating in our Quacker finery for Christmas. I put it on whether I am going anywhere or not. It just makes me happy wearing the holiday shirts and sweaters. We really are a sisterhood.
Gail

[Gail Norusis]

#22597

Hi Adele,
When you watch Groundhog Day again you can picture us going to all those places that they show. The bar, the Opera House, the movie theater. You can step right on the place where the puddle is-there’s a plaque there. The place where he has breakfast used to be how it looks in the movie but it has had several new owners since then. The house where he stayed was a bed a breakfast but I think it might be for sale again so who knows what will happen to it next.
I’m with Bobby on the prime rib. I will just do mine with seasoned salt and pepper too-but the wine did sound interesting. I will also make a small ham as the littles like that better and we don’t mind the leftovers.
The doctor visit went well. Mostly we exchanged jokes and talked about old Seinfeld episodes. However, some of my blood work was out of whack so I have to retest in three weeks instead of three months. Hopefully things will be back to normal by then.
You are lucky to get all that wrapping done. That is my goal for this Sunday. Wish me luck!
Gail

[Gail Norusis]

#22599

Hi Colleen,
I was thinking the same thing about the freezer. If you keep opening up the door of course it’s going to run more! lol That silly Ron!
They didn’t put anything special in the meatloaf-just the normal ingredients. She always had a pretty big turkey so it cooked in there for a good long while and it was always done. The hard part was getting it out of the turkey. They would have to cut the carcass after it was carved to get it out. Greg always thought that was the greatest thing. Personally I could take it or leave it-I would much rather have the bread stuffing. I have never seen the ready made dumplings in the stores around here. I just make drop not rolled dumplings so they are pretty easy to whip them up in a short time. I would try the ones at the store if I could find them though.
I probably would not eat squirrel either so don’t invite me over if you are having that. lol I definitely would not eat racoon or most likely not bunny either. I’m not crazy about wild game in general-not even venison although lots of people around here deer hunt.
We went to Lachlan’s Christmas concert last night. The kids are so darn cute-some sing with great enthusiasm and some barely mouth the words. One little boy had on a tie with penguins on it and matching suspenders. How cute was that! We went out to dinner after that. When Greg and I first walked in the waitress was surprised to see just the two of us as she usually sees us with Jenny and the kids-we told her that they were just following behind in a different car.
Poor Jenny caught strep throat from Piper. I babysat yesterday and I kept washing my hands and sanitized them really good after I left there. Poor Jenny said she didn’t feel that well and Piper’s birthday party is today so she will have a house full of people. Good thing she ordered some mostacholli and rolls and I am making a tossed salad. I hope she feels better today as her office Christmas party is tonight too. We are meeting friends for dinner and we do a little gift exchange with them too. I like when we get together for the day but with Piper’s party today we couldn’t do that and I need tomorrow to work on Christmas stuff.
We had a few snow flurries today. I hope the kids get some snow over their Christmas vacation so that they can go out and play.
If I miss coming on some days this next week don’t anyone worry. I have bunches still to do and it will be a busy week.
Gail

[adele shanbar]

#22611

Hi Gail and Colleen
Poor Piper and Jenny. I hope everyone is better for her party today, and tonight. It is miserable to be sick on the holidays.
It is funny that Ron keeps opening the door, and thinks that stops the freezer…..LOL
Adele

[adele shanbar]

#22613

Hi Gail
if I have time today, I am going to on demand the movie and view it in a new light.
I hope your blood work will b normal in 3 weeks. I think it is a good idea to wait until a few weeks after the holidays, as we all eat things we usually do not eat this time of year. I will say a prayer that is all it is.
Did you get the bags Q that I did? Absolutely love them! Made everything so easy.
Have you heard form Brent? How is the job, and girlfriend?
Any news on Debbie, or Barbara?
The bake-a thon starts tomorrow. I sat and counted all the eggs I need, and lemons-everything else is already here. Not sure on the vegie for Christmas. I pulled out a few I had saved form the Chew, and magazines. I like to try different fancier vegies for the holiday. I will consult with Chef Bobby….LOL. I have conceded on the prime rib. But, because we are having fewer people we may cut the roast in half, and cook the rest on a Sunday. Maybe then, I can squeeze in the Chew’s recipe….LOL
I got those polish oblaten yesterday. I found the oblaten on Amazon, ordered the last one they had, and then got a message saying they could not fulfil the order. I am glad I ordered another one of the Polish ones that did not have the prayer cards width them, because I can break them up into smaller pieces for the bottom of the cookies. When I was ordering those, 2 cookbooks came up on the bottom of the page. One was a German cookie cookbook, and a German food cookbook. I got both of them, and gave them to Tillie to read last night. She was so happy with them, and told me a lot of them were recipes her mother made. I should have saved it for a Christmas present for her. If it were not for you mentioning the tradition on here, I would have never found those books for her. Thank you, for making Tillie’s day!
Hope you have fun at the party, and dinner tonight.
Adele

[adele shanbar]

#22615

Hi Gail and Barbara
Not sure if I mentioned how nice it is to work at St Jude’s hospital. they do such great work for the children ,and their families. What a wonderful place to work, where you feel you are maiking a difference in everyone’s lives.
hope your dinner goes well.
Adele

[adele shanbar]

#22619

Hi Colleen
You will love those bags, for sure! Made it a lot easier, and faster.
I was surprised at Bobby too, as he always wants to kick it up a notch. I took all my recipes and wrote down the amount of lemons and eggs I need, so I will not run out. Also put aside some vegie recipes for “The Chef’ to consult on. I do all the holiday cooking- the turkey, prime rib, and baking. Bobby is always here to help with the hard things- getting meat in and out of the oven cutting the meat, and clean-up.
So, for Christmas Eve, I decided to do an Italian bread, since I am not cooking that dinner, We do an Italian take out that night because bobby gets home late, and I do not want to spend 2 days in a row in the kitchen .
We both have to take it easy for the next week, or we will hurt ourselves. I was gong to vacuum the living room and dining room, and Gary did it for me this morning. I thought that was sweet.
I absolutely love those temptations baking dishes. they do a better job than the ones I have. I am so glad I got that one Pumpkin pan, or I would not have known about them. I love that they have ceramic, and plastic covers- good for the oven, and the leftovers. I am now a big fan of theirs! This one set came with a platter I will use for Christmas.
It is cold here today, and will bet warmer again by the holiday. I better get in all my visiting, as I fear I will be in all January through March again…..LOL
I had to record the Chew yesterday, as I had the dentist apt. I was thrilled with it, as the dentist considered it a re-do, and did no charge me for the chipped filling in my front tooth. I felt like she gave me a Christmas gift.
Hope your weekend goes well.
Adele

[Anonymous]

#22621

Adele please be careful with the Temptations as many people have reported them breaking in the oven. I never bought any for that reason.

[adele shanbar]

#22623

Hi Sue
thank you so much, as I would never have known that. Do they have temperature limits in the oven?
Have a great holiday season!
Adele

[Colleen]

#22626

Hi Sue,
That was the first time that I had heard of that also. That is not good. Thanks for passing that on.
Colleen

[Colleen]

#22628

Hi Gail,
I hope that Piper and Jenny get well soon. They need to be well for Christmas. That is so hard when they are sick on a holiday. It would be nice to have snow on the kids week off from school. They need sometime to just have fun and not worry about school work. We are not supposed to call it Christmas vacation anymore it is winter break. They can say what they want it is Christmas break.
Those dumplings are Mrs Bs and they have them at wal-mart here. They are pretty reasonable and they do save a lot of time. I have not made the drop dumplings since we first got married. They turned out so bad that I never made them again. So have stuck to the roll out ones or the frozen ones.
I love it when they had concerts with the little kids. They are so much fun to watch. Like you said some are really enthusiastic and some are shy. There is no telling what will happen. They boy with the penguin tie and suspenders sounds really cute. They really dress those kids up for the concerts. We have so much fun watching and listening to the kids talk about it after it is over. They are still excited when they talk about the whole thing. That is funny that the waitress was looking for Jenny and the kids when you went into the restaurant. People get use to seeing all of you together.
We have not had any snow yet. We are not supposed to have any snow on Christmas so we are ready for that. The only thing that we are not ready for is the sixty degree weather we are supposed to have on Christmas day. That is too warm for Christmas. It could be cold at least.lol
Well it is the same with me. I may not be on here as much next week. Have a lot to do and not a lot of time to get it done. Will talk to you when I can.
Colleen

[Colleen]

#22630

Hi Adele,
It is really nice that Bobby is around to help with getting things in and out of the oven for you. Sure does make it easier on you. That is really a good thing. You need all the help that you can get so you do not hurt you back again. I do not see how you do all that cooking and things with your back the way it is. Just be careful this holiday and do not hurt you back again.
You are such a good person. I cannot believe that you are going to make bread on a night that they are delivering dinner. They should bring bread with the meal. You do a lot for you family. The bread sounds really good. You are going to bake that and then do all that baking and cooking for Christmas. You are a better woman then I am.
I was surprised to hear that temptation dishes break in the oven. It is nice that Sue shared that information. Now we all know to be careful when we use it. I would have never have thought that it would do that. I wonder if it is when you take it out of the freezer or the fridge. If you put it right in the oven from either one of those places I could see them breaking. So just have to be careful with those dishes.
I have not done much today have not been feeling well. SO that will mean more work to do next week. I just hope that I get all this stuff done before Christmas day. if you do not hear from me much next week it is because I am busy doing things. I will try and check in everyday and just say hi ans see how every one is doing. So have a great week-end. Will talk to you later.
Colleen

[Gail Norusis]

#22635

Hi Adele,
Well Piper and Jenny were feeling better today so that was good. The birthday party was at lunchtime and fortunately Jenny ordered mostacholli and rolls and I made a huge tossed salad so she didn’t have to do any extra cooking to prepare as she had been sick all week. But she was feeling better today and they were planning on going to her work Christmas party Saturday night.
Hope you enjoy your “new” viewing of Groudhog Day. You can just picture me and Greg in all those places instead of Bill Murray and Andi McDowell. lol Ever since they made that movie there they have a groundhog festival in that town on Groindhog day too.
I bought a set of those bags for myself and for Jenny. She loves them as they make her limited time to wrap so easy. She was showing them off to her friends yesterday at Piper’s party too. I imagine that she still wraps for the kids as they like to tear open presents but i think she used them for everyone else and maybe some for the kids little stuff.
Finally got word from Brent that he will not be coming for Christmas now. He was just going to take the time off between when the last job ended and the new one started but he was afraid that he would run short of money if he did that so he took a construction job in between and now just has Christmas day off. I’m sorry we won’t see him but I don’t want him living from hand to mouth either and he probably wouldn’t have had the money for the trip here anyway so it’s better this way. He says that he is happier than he has been in a long time so we are glad to hear that. I think passing that 2 year mark since Kim’s death is kind of a landmark on your way back to wellness. I think those first couple of years are the worst. When he was in NM before I got used to not seeing him for long stretches of time. Then they moved back here and it was nice that we could get together with him and Kim to see a movie or go out to dinner and you get used to him being close again. So now it’s a new adjustment all over again. We just want him to be happy and healthy and secure. We miss him but we want what is best for him too.
I haven’t heard from Debbie but did get an ecard from her so I know she is thinking about us.
Your welcome-glad looking for the oplatki lead you to find those books for Tillie. Sometimes a meandering path will lead us to just what we needed to find.
I have read that about the temptations on the Q boards. Just like anything else things have good reviews and bad reviews and some people love the things and some hate them. If you want to learn more go to the Q website and go to forums and type in Temptations and see what discussions come up and read about it there. I wonder too if the change in temperature from refrigerator to oven will cause the breakage. I always like to take my casseroles out of the fridge and let them warm up a bit before putting them in the oven. You could also read the customer reviews and see if there are any complaints there.
I’ll bet your house will be smelling delicious this next week. I may have to amend my Christmas menu for less people. I am thinking about what changes I may want to make. I’ll figure it out during the week.
Gail

[Gail Norusis]

#22637

Hi Colleen,
I hope that you will feel better soon for the busy week ahead. I will have to look in our WalMart for those dumplings but it is kind of a small one and they do not carry a lot of things.
After the little kids concert they usually have Christmas cookies for them to decorate and another table with a craft for them to make an ornament or something. Some of the little girls have really fancy dresses on.
Speaking of that during Piper’s party yesterday all of a sudden she went in her room and took her clothes off but Jenny said it ended being just for a wardrobe change as she wanted to change dresses. I thought maybe she wanted to be in her birthday suit at her birthday party but i guess she was just like one of those people that host an awards show and she had to do a change in wardrobe. lol
We had a nice dinner with our friends last night. We exchange Christmas gifts so we ate our dinners and then did our gift exchange. I think everyone liked what they got. It was nice to catch up with them after their busy season of working on ONP. They hosted about three hundred people this year. It had to be moved to a bigger ballroom.
The next fundraiser is a thing where they have all these chefs coming in and preparing their specialties and you can try them all. I would really like to go but it is on a Monday night in February so I doubt that we can make it with Greg’s work schedule. I’ll bet it will be delicious.
I guess you and I have a lot of wrapping to do this week. Sunday I hope to get lots and lots done.
Gail

[adele shanbar]

#22639

Hi colleen
Are you sick, like me? I was not feeling great yesterday, and today it is a full blown sore throat. My head feels congested, and my throat is killing me, and occasional coughing. I cannot believe it. I hate to bake when I am sick, as I am afraid to transfer any germs. I was doing one cookie today, and I will be washing my hands a million times.
I am lucky to have Bobby, and the grands around. they do a lot of the reaching/bending stuff for me. I mix everything at the table, and then stand for a short time to use the mixer. It is funny watching me do things….LOL
I will have to watch the Temptation bakeware. Maybe it was after the fridge, and right into the oven. Temperature changes ay be the key. Maybe Sue will post if she knows more.I am glad she gave us a heads up. now, I have visions of the broccoli cauliflower dish form the Chew making quite the mess in the oven….yuck!
I may have to re0think the bread thing, if I still feel this way. I hate to be sick on a holiday.
hoe you are feeling better, and able to get all your things done.
Merry preparation to everyone!
Adele

[adele shanbar]

#22641

Hi Gail
Sounds like Piper’s birthday party as a big success. She is quite the character. Everyone must love her to death. So happy Piper and Jenney are all better. I think I caught their germs…..LOL I am now sick with a miserable sore throat. Hand Gary look- nothing in there, so I will just have to ride it out.
I was looking forward to my first cookie today, and now I do not feel like doing anything.
the Christmas play sounds like it was also a success- the cookie decorating was a nice touch….read the post to Colleen. Glad dour had a good time with yore friends. I love the holiday gatherings. We were going to go out with Ron and Joyce, but since I am sick, nobody will want to be near me…..LOL they have grands whose parents would freak if they heard they were near someone who was ill. One is a set of twins that were born pre-mature, so you can see their Mom’s concern.
I am glad you heard form Debbie. I hope she is well.
Sorry Brent is not coming home for the holidays. But, very happy he is happy. Maybe this job and girlfriend will be the one to heal his heart. You are right. the first 2 years after a loss is the worst. I know he is in all our prayers.
Well, I am still going to make my one cookie today. My hands will be raw form washing them so much, so as not to transfer any germs. I hope Tillie does not get sick, where she is 89, I get very worried about that.
Good idea on reading the posts on Temptations.
Hope you are having fun with you prep, and cooking this week.
Merry preparation week to all of us!!!
Adele

[adele shanbar]

#22655

Hey Gail and Colleen
That chef’s fundraiser sounds fabulous. I hope you will be able to go, and take some pics to share with us.
The ONP is getting bigger and bigger. How wonderful for all the children you are helping. Sooner or later, you will all be on the evening news, and we will all know one of our esteemed Quackers is involved in such a good thing.
Hope you are done wrapping.
Adele

PS….The Vienna bars are done. We have been making that recipe since Ronald Regan was president. It was featured in a magazine titled, “Nancy Regan’s favorite Christmas cookie.”
I will post a pic.

[adele shanbar]

#22657

Hello Fellow Quackers…..first holiday cookie complete- Vienna Bars.

Merry Christmas to all!
Adele

[Colleen]

#22666

Hi Gail,
Sounds like you had a nice dinner with your friends. They really had a big crowd this year that is great. These kids will remember this for the rest of their lives. It is such a kind thing to do and to include the whole family is so nice. Your friends do such a good job for those families.
That is so funny that Piper had to change dresses at her party. I can imagine how worried that Jenny was thinking she was going to go out without clothes on. Guess she just could not decide what to wear.lol She is just too funny. She will keep her mom busy. What a cute idea to let the kids decorate cookies and make a craft. i bet they had a really good time. It gave them something to do after the concert. What did Lachlan make?
That will be really nice getting to sample all the food those chefs make. I imagine they have a good crowd for that also. They really come up with some really good ideas. It seems like they get a lot of people to volunteer. That makes it nice also. There are a lot of good people in this world no matter what they say. You just have to look for the good in people.
I finally got all my gifts wrapped just need to put the gift cards in gift bags. I do not have enough small boxes to put them in. I hope that they will all be happy with what they get. They wanted the gift cards but is sure looks bare under the tree. I am not going to do that again next year. It just does not feel like Christmas. Guess I just miss going out and getting all the gifts.
I am okay it is just my usual stomach problem. I am hoping that it does not flare up over Christmas. That will not be fun. At least Melissa will be here to help with cooking the meal. It is funny she never realized how much work it is to cook for the whole family. Now she knows and she wants to help out. I guess I have done it for so long they did not realize how early we get up in the morning to get things started. I do not know what they thought.
Well that is about all from here. Have a good day.
Colleen

[Colleen]

#22668

Hi Adele,
Just take care of yourself and get rid of that sore throat. This is not a good time to get sick. There is so much to do. The cookies that you made look really good. I wonder if Nancy made them or they were made for her. They look really good though.
You are lucky to have your family around to help you do all the cooking. It is nice that Bobby likes to cook. Does he do it professionally or does he just do it at home for fun. I cannot remember what you said he did. My mind is going. It is nice that he can help you though. He probably could cook the whole meal if you did not feel good enough to do it. He is a good son. I cannot imagine his wife letting him go. Not many guys like to cook.
I keep an old cookie sheet in the oven on the bottom. That way if something runs over or drips in the oven it goes on the cookie sheet and not all over the oven. It was one that we were going to throw out and decided that it would be good for that. It is really old. Think that I have had it since we first got married. Anyway it serves a good purpose. I wonder if that happened to more then one person. Maybe they did something wrong when they put it in the oven. You never know what happened. I hope that Sue will post more on that also. It is something that we all need to know.
If you do not feel like making the bread you should not do it. They can do without it just once. If you do not feel good just take care of yourself so you will feel well enough to do things on Christmas day. That is the day that you really want to feel good. Just relax and enjoy the day.
Well that is about all from here. Will talk to you later.
Colleen

[adele shanbar]

#22670

Hi Colleen
I am doing my last check on the laptop for the night. Gary is showering, since the game is over. he lives for the football games. The Patriots won. I am not much of a football fan, but, I absolutely love Gronkowski. His personality fills up the room. He did a couple of commercials that made me laugh my butt off. Of course, I don’t remember what they were for, just loved him in them. he comes form a family with a lot of brothers, and a father who is very involved with his sons. You do not see that often. he just seems like a real upstanding, nice kid. I also like Brady, but, everyone does. Honestly, Gronk is my favorite.
There was another football player who said a prayer before he played- I liked him too. He seemed like a nice guy, without the usual drama of ball players. Do you have any favorite players?
I used to do that with an old cookie sheet too, until I got a self cleaning oven. Now, if there is a mess, I just turn on the clean function. Funny, I have not put one down since the oven cleans itself- do not know why, as it would make it easier on a spill.
I did not realize it was your stomach that was bothering you again- I thought it was a cold/flu thing. I hope your stomach calms down before the holiday. It would stink to have an issue with digestion on Christmas, because we have as many different things we only make this time of year.
the shower made me feel better- the steam in there always feels good when you have a cold/flu thing going on. I will be careful. Amanda is coming tomorrow to help, as her restaurant closes until January 2ond. So, I have a Minnion tomorrow….LOL
Tomorrow is Lebkuchen day, and maybe the little cranberry butter cookies. We shall see what me and my Minnion can get done together.
Hope you have a good night, and that your stomach feels better. I wish I had something to help. All I can say is this- when I had diviticulitis, and I had a flare up, I could only eat “white foods”, which are pasta, bread, crackers. Also, my doctor had me keep cans of Coke on hand, and had me drink 2 cans- the regular Coke with the caffeine, and sugar. It doe something to help your stomach calm down. Kind of like the old fashioned Coke syrup when we were kids.
Thanks for the compliment on the cookie. I bet Nancy did not make her own cookies.
Adele

[Gail Norusis]

#22680

Hi Colleen,
I’m sure everyone will love their gift cards if that is what they asked for. It doesn’t make for a nice big pile under the tree though. I guess Ron will have to get a bunch of stuff for you to make the pile bigger. lol I got done wrapping most of the grand’s stuff. They had some oddly shaped packages this year.
I hope that your stomach will feel better soon. Thank goodness Melissa will be there to help. You are right-until they do it themselves they have no idea how much work and time it takes to put together a holiday meal. i think the older the kids get the more they learn to appreciate all that we have done for them and the family.
Gail

[Gail Norusis]

#22682

Hi Adele,
The cookies look Deeelicious! as Piper would say. Love homemade cookies!
I hope that the sore throat will pass quickly. When I get that it is usually the first sign of a cold.
I remember that hand washing. When I took care of Greg’s Mom I washed my hands so much that they used to get raw in the winter months. I was always trying to be careful not to transfer any germs to her. We don’t want to make the older folks sick that’s for sure. Does Tillie have her own kitchen?
We all have too much to do this week to let a bug or illness get us down.
The people that run ONP actually have been on the news and they have received awards from various organizations like the Red Cross. There are tons of volunteers who work hours and hours. We only do a teeny tiny little bit. If we lived closer to where all this takes place we would be able to volunteer more but it is a drive into the city every time something goes on and that just doesn’t work for us.
I hope that you will get to see JJ and Aizen sometime over the holidays. Good thing you have other Minions to help. Speaking of that Greg was getting into watching the Minion movie at Jenny’s and then we had to come home. I guess I will have to get him Despicable Me and the Minions to watch now. lol
Gail

[adele shanbar]

#22704

Hi Gail!
I am actually worst today. No infection though…you know how you ca see that-yuck! So, I did not call for an antibiotic. I just hope it gets better, not worst.
Tillie doe shave her own kitchen. She makes simple things, when she does not want to come upstairs, like eggs, soup, or oatmeal. When Amanda and I finished the Lebkuchen, she came up for tea. I had Amanda wipe down the table, and chair with the Lysol kitchen wipes. I am attaching pics of today’s cookies- the Lebkuchen and Cranberry melt-aways- butter cookie made with chopped craisins, and confectionery sugar- no eggs.
I got the new Minnion movie for JJ, and hope I can watch it with him, some time. I already wrapped it up for him. I really love the Minnions, they are so dam cute, and we all need a laugh. When they go, “oh, oh”, it sounds like a toddler saying that. You know, when the kids just learn to talk, and they do the oh, oh, it is so cute.
Tomorrow is Jelly Roll, and Snickerdoodle day.
I will be watching the light decorating show, and the holiday bake off- love those shows. Christime said they have a bake-off show in England, but I think it is all season long.
hope you are making progress toward Thursday…..LOL
Adele

[adele shanbar]

#22708

Ps…the craisin cookie is the one rolled in the sparking sugar.
Adele

[Colleen]

#22711

Hi Adele,
I really do not have any favorites on the foot ball teams. I did have some favorites in baseball but they got traded. I have not found any that interest me that much. I do not watch foot ball but do watch baseball once in awhile. It makes me nervous watching. I just what to know who won and who lost. I really do not like it when they go into extra innings. That just wastes my time. Play the 9 innings and go home.
I would love to have a self cleaning oven. That would be so nice. I have to scrub ours out and that is always a mess. Next time I am going to let Ron do it. He can bend better then I can. That might take his mind off of opening the freezer door and shutting it. One of his many habits that drive me crazy. He thinks that it keeps it from running too much. I think that it would make it run more. But what do I know.
Your cookies look so good. I will be right over to eat a few..lol It is nice that Amanda is coming over to help you with the baking. I imagine that she is a lot of help. You will get a lot done. You make such good cookies. I can see why the whole family goes to your house all the time. There is always good food for them to eat. All the cookies and bread I would weigh 300 pounds. If I get started eating stuff like that I do not quit.You would have to give me two and tell me that is all that I can have.lol
Well that is about all from here. I have a lot of dishes to do and get things ready for tomorrow. I have to go to my moms. She is driving me crazy. It would be nice sometimes if she lived here and we could be right there when she needs us. We will make the trip because she wants us to and then on the 27th we will go back again. Hope she does not come up with something else that she needs to do. I am not making that many trips in a row.
Thats all from here. I will quit complaining. Have a good night.
Colleen

[Colleen]

#22713

Hi Gail,
I agree Ron should buy me a bunch of things and put them under the tree. That way I will have all the thing I need. I am a needy person. Christmas is at your house right? I forgot for sure where it was going to be.
Have you been hearing about the Miss Universe pageant. Steve Harvey announced the wrong winner. They had given the girl the crown and everything and then they took it away from here and gave it to Miss Philippines. Then he made a statement not to be mad at the women it was his fault. I think everyone realized it. I bet they think twice about him doing that again. I know that it was embarrassing for him to have to tell everyone that he made a mistake. What a mess.
Adele’s cookies look so good. It is a shame that we cannot grab one off of here and eat one. She needs us to taste them for her. I am glad that you said something about her sore throat. I had forgotten she had a sore throat. My mind is off somewhere.
That is funny that Greg is into the Minions. I guess he is a kid at heart. We all are because I think that we all like to watch movies like that. Kid movies are better then some adult movies. Did you go to see Star Wars? We did not go and I was surprised that the girls didn’t. Not one of my girls went to see it. Now when they were kids I had to go with them to see all of them. I had a friend that had kids the same age as my kids and so we went together. Her husband did not like to go to the movies either. So it worked out really nice.
Not much going on here. Just trying to get things done around here. Have a good night. Will talk to you later.
Colleen

[adele shanbar]

#22715

Hi Colleen
I hope you have a safe and good trip to you mom’s. I know she is far away from you, and hope the weather cooperates.
Amanda was a huge help today. She is such a good kid. I am blessed.
I am quickly approaching that weight….LOL LOL I have 3 more cookies to do- the jelly roll, snickerdoodles, and the Italian anise cookies. I’ll take pics- too bad it is not “scratch and taste” on here….LOL
You need a self cleaning oven for Christmas. I have had one since I have house, and do not know how I lived without one before. They are a blessing. I hope you will be bale to get one- it would save your back! not too late to write a letter to Santa.
You have a good idea- play the 9 innings, and go home. I do not watch a lot of the football games. While Gary watches, I am usually in the kitchen doing something, or I sit in my chair and read magazines. I do watch the super Bowl thing.
I saw the news clip on poor Steve Harvey. he must be mortified. I feel so bad for him. I love his morning show, and try not to miss it. I hope this blows over fast, as he is a really good guy.
Hope you have a good day tomorrow, with your mom!
Have a good trip.
Adele

[Barbara Smith]

#22717

Hello Girls! Hope your sore throat is much better, Adele, and that your tummy is calm for you Colleen. Gosh, I know you must be so tired of letting that tummy give you so much trouble and here we are with all this coming and going revolving around the kitchen table. Just rest and let the girls help. I saw a commercial on the other day (during one of my “wish I had gotten this or that” spells) that said, the real joy of having everyone getting together is to HONOR the older members of the family who have made so many sacrifices in their lives to give their children and grandchildren a good safe life. It was showing them all around a table having the older members of the family as the “honored guests” so to speak. Really struck a cord with me. Here I was just worrying about, as you say Colleen, all those little gift bags with nothing but gift cards in them, that are under our little tree, and I really should be thinking about how grateful I am that Jerry and I am able to give our young folks these gift cards. I think sometimes I am the guilty one who gets caught up in the hustle and bustle and forget that I am we are closer to 70 than we are to 60, and when is it our turn to just sit back and not feel GUILTY about it? Don’t get me wrong, I am not ready to hang up my apron, but do really know how I push myself, and Jerry pushes himself and then we suffer in silence. I had one of my sleepless nights last night. Woke up about 2 am and stayed awake until about 5. My shoulder was really aching. I can always tell when it is about to rain or is raining. Do you all have that same problem? I can’t help but wonder why I am like this. It is like I have had a full nights sleep and my mind just starts to race. Wish I could come up with some brilliant idea of how to solve some of the worlds problems or even some of our little disagreements. You are so right in how when Jerry didn’t take Sarah up on her offer to help with bringing groceries in; and he does expect the boys to step up to the plate like sort of a “man” thing. Jerry opens doors for me and helps me to get up steps and such; so I know he was only trying to look out for her and I just felt so bad when she made it seems differently. I wish I had spoken up; but felt they would think I was listening to their conversation. Mabey this is why I don’t sleep so well at night ha ha
Your cookies look and sound so good. I made the butter one; not too fancy but tasted really good. I also made fudge, and they ate it all the day I made it so I had to end up fixing another batch. ha ha So I guess it is safe to say that they liked it. I love to munch this time of year, just go around tasting a little or sometimes a lot, of everything. I was watching the Pioneer Woman today, and she made some scalloped potato casserole and it just looked delicious. It had a creamy cheese sauce and she made a ham to go along with it. Are you all having ham for Christmas dinner? What is on your menu?
Hope you all are having a wonderful Christmas week. Please take the time to just sit back and watch and listen to the wonderful sights and sounds of this blessed season. Here’s wishing you all peace, love, and wonderful memories to make for this year. Will talk to you soon. Hugs from down South, Barbara

[Gail Norusis]

#22725

Hi Barbara,
Will your family’s schedules allow you all to get together on Christmas Day this year? We found out that Brent has decided to stay in NM recently and won’t even be making the trip up for the holidays like he originally thought he would be doing. So I ended up packing up a little goodie box and sending it out to him. You and Colleen shouldn’t worry about the envelopes under the tree. I think the adults and older kids much prefer the money or gift cards anyway. It’s the little ones who like the actual presents to rip into. I have not seen the commercial about honoring your elders. If only that were really true. It seems like the older we get the more invisible we become. It would be nice to live in a society like some of the eastern cultures where the elders are respected because of their knowledge and experience of life. We live in a very youth oriented country. Even many of the older people go through much trouble and expense to look younger. I guess we would feel that it was easier to grow old gracefully if we got some respect. To quote Rodney Dangerfield. Okay I’m jumping off my soapbox now or rather stepping down gently so I don’t break a hip. lol
We’re having prime rib and a small ham over here as the little ones prefer the ham and we are always happy for the leftovers-even though I do also send Jenny home with food too. I might be amending some of my side dishes since Brent and his friend are not coming now. I will shop tomorrow and make the final decisions then.
Gail

[Gail Norusis]

#22728

Hi Adele,
My mouth is watering looking at your delicious cookies. The pink and green ones look so festive.
That’s nice that Tillie has her own kitchen. So she has like her own inlaw type of suite. That’s what we wanted to do for Greg’s Mom in our basement but she didn’t want to be down there so we converted our den/office into a bedroom for her on the first floor. She had a TV and stereo in there and her bed and recliner but she never really went in there except to sleep. She much preferred being out in the rest of the house with us. Now much as we did love her; having another adult in the house all the time with you in the same room didn’t give us much privacy so at times that was difficult-but you do what you have to do. So I always recommend the in law suite situation if you have the space to make it work. It affords everyone a bit of privacy.
I hope the sore throat is feeling a bit better today.
Well Piper’s birthday was actually yesterday and when i arrived to babysit she was wearing her birthday suit. lol I finally wormed her into some underpants. it’s a good thing that it’s been a warm winter otherwise I can’t see how she wouldn’t be freezing running around like that. Speaking of that i see that Boston might have 70 degrees for Christmas. What weird weather!
Those Minions are really cute-who doesn’t love a character who uses a fart blaster? Some of those children’s movies have several layers of humor both for adults and kids. They can be so clever. I understand that Inside Out is really good too. Haven’t seen it yet. I, like you, love anything that makes me laugh.
Gail

[Gail Norusis]

#22730

Hi Colleen,
I’m thinking that you are right-when you open up the freezer door it lets the warm air in and then the freezer has to work harder to cool it back down. So I don’t get Ron’s theory at all. He needs to get an different hobby, I think. lol
I have a double oven and the top one is self cleaning but the bottom one isn’t. I have no idea why they couldn’t make them both self cleaning. Obviously the top one gets the most use for that very reason.
I have been seeing a lot about the Steve Harvey fiasco. I often wondered what would happen on one of those competition shows if someone accidentally read the wrong name. I always would think I wouldn’t want to have that person’s job for that very reason. Well-in the big scheme of things I hope it just all blows over and it doesn’t affect his career negatively. Anyone can make a mistake so I hope he is easily forgiven. It’s not like anyone died or was injured by this-that would be a different story so i hope they cut the poor guy some slack.
I have not seen the new Star Wars movie but I hear lots of good things about it. Adam’s middle brother saw it already and loved it. I saw all of the first three and then they made the three prequels but i think I only saw one of those. I saw the original three so long ago that I barely remember much about them. I feel sorry for anyone else who released movies last weekend-it was hard to go up against all the hype of the new Star Wars.
Have fun visiting your Mom today and have a safe trip. Does she go to someone else’s house for Christmas Day or does she stay home?
Gail

[adele shanbar]

#22738

Hi Barbara
Glad to hear from you, and get your holiday wishes for all of us. May I say, before I forget, that I also hope everyone is stopping t smell the Christmas tree, while they bustle about getting everything done.
So, I have not dusted the furniture, and I do not care…how is that for holiday spirit? I decided to concentrate on the wonderful smells of baking, which I can barely pick up….LOL heather is committed to vacuuming and swiffering the floors when I am done with the baking. My other Minnions are working late every day. Marissa is on until 7pm Christmas Eve, as they have to get the day after sales signs up at Yankee Candle.
Cold is a tiny bit better today. Tillie told me my voice sounds better. I did the Snickerdoodle cookie, and am waiting for the Jelly roll dough to get a bit cold, as it is too warm in here to roll it out. Who ever heard of 50’s in December?
I do not think any of us will veer be in the position of being “honored’ at the holiday table. We will be cooking, and baking, until the undertaker comes to take us away. My Nonna was the same way. I do remember as she got into her 80’s, the Aunties helped a lot more, and she directed the Italian way…yelling at them and clawing them “stunada’s”. Not sure of spelling, but it means dummies. there are days I use a lot more colorful wording. You are rig, my dear, better to be the ones doing , than the ones done for. We Quackers will not give up, or give in to ur ailments.
Yes, Barbara, we all have lots of sleepless nights. if something is on my mind, and I get to sleep, and wake up for a second, that is it- up until dawn. I have a lot of those. Add the rain, and I an awake not just for me, but Gary, who thrashes around with his shoulder that is killing him. they took him off the Celebrex for the arthritis, because of the compromised kidneys.
Maybe you could work into the conversation with Sarah that Jerry is very old fashioned, and wants the men to do the heavy carrying, not the women. add that he gets aggravated when his son does not come out, expects him to open doors for her, and would never consider getting help from his delicate DIL. Not in his nature. Could work, you never know when you would have a good opening for that one.
the only reason they are not eating all the cookies, is because they are all working late…LOL Plus, I have not made Gary’s favorite yet- the Jelly roll, and tomorrow the Italian anise cookie. if I made chocolate chip, they would not last 2 hours around here. Not only does Bobby eat most of them, he hides some in his room for later. yesterday, Amanda took a coupled to Marissa at work, and she was thrilled. I bet that fudge was spectacular. Anything gone that fast always is!
For Christmas Eve we are having take out, or catering( they call it catering to charge more….LOL), from a local Italian function hall- Spinelli’s, of East Boston. Lasagna, eggplant, meatballs, ziti, chicken parm, and chicken marsala, with a tray of antipasto. Bobby is working late too, and there is not time for a gravy to be made. Plus, it gives us all a break. I will be doing a loaf of Italian bread in the morning, so hot home made bread will be on the table. Christmas day, is prime rib, with honey glazed carrots, spiced broccoli and cauliflower (ala the Chew), mashed and au gratin potato’s.
Cooking 2 holiday meals in a row, is just not good for my mood. decided that years ago, when the back got bad.
What is on your menu?
Hope your prep is going well, and that you are not too achy. Put your feet up in your recliner, and have a little nap. you have earned one.
Adele

[adele shanbar]

#22741

Hi Gail
the head is a tiny bit better today. Tillie says my voice is better.
I do love the Minnions. This year, I got JJ the operation Minnion game, and a microphone thingie that makes your voice sound like a Minnion. Hope he gets a kick out of them.
I posted the snickerdoodle cookie, and will post the Jelly Roll, when it is done. Waiting for the dough to get more firm- too hot in here. I cannot believe it will be 70. this kitchen will be un-bearable with all the cooking going on.
piper is hysterical! I wonder as it gets colder, if she will don some sparkly clothing? Maybe she is waiting for Quacker to make kids clothes.
It is a very good idea to be able to have your own space. At least that way, everyone can catch a break, now and then. That is why we got this house, as the in-law is not below ground. It is a raised ranch, so you have to come up a set of stairs to the main house.
How is your baking coming? I am dying to be done today, so I can get into the shower. Not much more to do, just roll out the dough, add the ingredients, and then frost after.
hope your day is going well. Happy prep!
Adele

[adele shanbar]

#22743

hello girls.
here is the Jelly Roll. Gary felt it came out so good, he ate 4 pieces…..LOL I always give him the end pieces, because they never look great. Bobby ate 2 ends, and the rest is history. because I made so many different ones this year, I made only a single batch per cookie. usually, I double some of them.

One more to go…..yeah!!!
Adele

[Colleen]

#22748

Hi Barbara,
I am right in the middle of 60 and 70 so am not sure how I am supposed to feel. Old or not that old yet.lol My great nephews asked my mom today why she was old and they looked at me and could not decide if I was old or not. So they asked if I was old and I told them no and they were happy with that. It is nice when I am with my mom and my sister who is ten years older then me. They think that I am young. Their dad is not that much younger then me or at least that is what I tell them. So that makes me look young. lol These boys are 4 and 5 so they are confused anyway.
Ron would have done the same thing that Jerry did to Sara. Ron thinks that it is okay for the guys to help him but not the girls. So that is what it would be like here. He will get mad if the girls do not help me out though. You can figure out the way men think. You were better off not saying anything. Jerry may have said something else that would have been worse I know that Ron would have. Some days we have to talk to them as soon as they get up so they do not say something that they may regret.
I understand what you are talking about. Before long it will be the girls that will have to cook the meals and we will not be able. to. It is hard to believe that day will come. It will though it comes to all of us. By then though I hope that we are old enough not to care. We can just sit back and say it is all yours. That will be nice. I guess it is nicer to think about then it is to do. I am glad that we can give gifts to our family. It will be hard when we cannot. I can remember when we were kids my grandma would buy all of us some little thing for Christmas like a pair of gloves or a scarf and we thought that she gave us some rally expensive gift. So I guess it depends on how you feel about your grandparents as to how you accept things.
I think that Adele needs to come to all of our houses and bake for us. She should have time to do that.lol Could you imagine if we all lived close together and Adele would bake like that every time we got together. I would be so big I could not walk. We would enjoy ourselves though. She could do the baking and we could all bring the things that we make best. We could really have a good time.
Merry Christmas to you and your family. May God bless all of you.
Colleen

[Colleen]

#22750

Hi Gail,
My mom and my oldest sister and brother go to her house for Christmas dinner. They all bring a dish so mom does not have to cook as much. That is why we do not go over there. I would have to cook a whole meal and bring it with me and that is not worth it. We would have to reheat everything and hope that things did not spill out in the car. So we just all come here. Danyielle is not doing it at her house anymore because of her new boyfriend. His family should not be included in our family gatherings. They are not married yet. That is my story and I am sticking to it.
In some ways it was kind of funny when he realized what he did. Not for the girls but that he made the mistake and had to change things. Can you imagine how he looked when they told him that he got it wrong. I think that he will be alright with his career. They may not ask him to host a pageant again but that is understandable. He may not want to do another one. It is not funny that he did it it is just the expression on his face. I am just weird. It is all straightened out so everything will be fine. My mom heard that Miss Columbia got some offers to do somethings. I do not know what it was but she is going to be alright.
They should have started at the beginning of Stars Wars instead of doing it this way. They went to when they were all young and that was kind of confusing. From what I understand they had all different actors in the three prequels and I guess they are all different on the new ones now also. I do not know I have not seen any since the first three.
I cannot believe Christmas is almost here. Time is flying by. We have to go get groceries and finish cleaning the house. Then tomorrow I will start fixing some of the things that I can fix ahead of time. My grands are all excited for Christmas. Santa will be here soon and they cannot wait. To them the week is going really slow.
Well that is about all from here. Have a good night.
Colleen

[Colleen]

#22752

Hi Adele,
Your jelly rolls look so good. I really think the need to make it where we can just grab a piece of the jelly roll right from off here. Wouldn’t that be nice. You would not have any left for your family. You would never get done baking.lol
I am glad that your head is better. I just hope that you are fine for Christmas day. Will all the family be there for Christmas? I hope that Steph will bring the boys by so they can see you can Gary. She should do that.
Looks like you have a lot of baking to do still. I am not baking again this time either. I am going to the store and picking something up so I do not have to bake. I am not feeling like baking right now. We will have to go shopping tomorrow and get what we need from the store. We are going early in the morning so we do not have to fight the crowd. So by the time we are checking out the crowd will be coming in to the store.
Well that is about all from here. I wrote some to Barbara if you want to read that and some to Gail. I am really getting tired from going to my mom’s and watching my great nephews. There were a handful. They have more energy then the energizer bunny.lol
Colleen

[adele shanbar]

#22763

Hi Colleen
I hope you got a good night’s sleep, and feel more rested aft yesterday. I hope you had some time to enjoy your mother’s company, while you were watching the great niece/nephews there.
I do love to bake. To me, it is relaxing, and entertaining, at the same time. I am pretty neat when I do it, so I do not make much of a mess, unless I spill something….LOL
Last cookie today is the Italian Anise one- Gary’s favorite. Tomorrow is the big day! All the presents will be opened, and the mess all gone. Then, just dinner on Christmas. Bobby picked up the roast last night.
There is only one cookie I did not try, that we love. Pfefferneuse- a German spice cookie. I have never done that one, and I may try it for New Years Eve.
Baking is not everyone’s thing. I totally get that you are goings to buy them. Between your backhand your stomach this year, that is enough to deal with. I hope the New Year will bring you a calm, quiet stomach, and less pain in your back.
Does anyone else feel a little protective over this new “ugly sweater” phrase going around??? I love our sweaters, and I love the ones I see on TV too- none are ugly to me.
Well….I better go do the last cookie, before Gary and Heather get back from their routes.
I will post the last pic!
Love ya!
Adele

[Colleen]

#22782

Hi Adele,
We were at the store today and we decided to just have ice cream for dessert. We had a lot of pies over Thanksgiving and we had a lot left over. So we will not have pie again. So we just decided to keep it simple. My grandson usually will bring cookies with him. So that will be all we will have. Now that is lazy.
I do not understand this ugly sweater thing either. I like the Christmas sweaters. They had an ugly sweater day on the chew one day last week I think it was. I thought that the sweaters were cute. I have never seen an ugly one. I have bought a lot of clothes here lately and some more Christmas tops. I really needed them. I do not know what happened to may others.
I just ordered the blue snowman top. It is so cute. I will wear it with the snow flake jeans. I really think that it will look cute together. I can wear that all winter also. I need to have somethings that I can wear all year not just during Christmas.
It will be nice to see the last pictures of your cookies. All of the ones that you have baked look really good. We are going to have to figure out away to go and pick up some of your bake goods.lol That would be a shock if a lot of Quackers came to your door and and had boxes to put bake goods in. Your family would be there chasing us away.
Well that is about all from here. I have some more cleaning to do.
Colleen

[adele shanbar]

#22790

hi Colleen
if all my Quacker friends arrived with boxes, it would take a while for me to stop crying, and then we would all bake together!
I am glad you are keeping it simple. You need a break too. That is why we do take out tonight, to give us all a break, so we can all have fun, with a simple clean-up. I have the bread dough rising. that is the only thing I am doing today.
I am attaching the last cookie pic.
Hope you have a great night, and Christmas tomorrow!
Adele

[adele shanbar]

#22793

Hello fellow Quackers!

Merry Christmas to all! I wish you a wonderful holiday.

Love, Adele

[Colleen]

#22814

Hi Adele,
Your cookies look really good. They always do look good. Have a great Christmas with your family and forget about everything for one day. You deserve to have one really good day. That is about all from here. I have been making things ahead of time so that I do not have to do it all tomorrow. I fixed a mushroom salad, ambrosia salad, shrimp thing that you snack while waiting to eat and some meat balls that are also a snack. So now all I have left it the hot food. will not do that until tomorrow.
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!
Colleen

[Gail Norusis]

#22817

Merry Christmas to all my Quacker friends. Can’t believe that it is here after all that prep. Greg and i just got each other silly gifts this year so he says he will win the Quacker prize for the worst gift from your husband. We will see. Now Kendall has strep throat. I hope I keep avoiding it through some Christmas miracle. She had no symptoms at all-just kept getting a stomach ache so Jenny finally took her in for that. Apparently, that’s also a little known side affect of the disease. Go figure.
We went to our Christmas Guitar night Wednesday night. It’s always such a lovely evening-the calm before the storm of Christmas. Spent Christmas Eve cleaning and prepping for the big day. Adam worked and Jenny and the kids went over to her inlaws. We just had a quiet evening at home watching Christmas movies.
I hope all of my Quacker friends have a wonderful day surrounded by those they love. We will miss our NM son but have great hopes that he is back on the path to happiness.
Hugs and Love to all my Quacker friends. Thanks for being there through thick and thin.
Gail

[adele shanbar]

#22883

Hi Colleen
Your prep sounds very yummy! I hope they all loved the food, and the company of their wonderful Nana and Papa.
They all ate well here…..LOL I think next year, I do not want to do the prime rib on Christmas Day. Too much rich food, 2 days in a row. I am thinking of saying, lets do the prime rib on Jan 1. I could not really enjoy a nice piece, because I was still full from the night before. I had a tiny end of one piece, and that was enough for me. We made scalloped potato’s, and the spicy broccoli/cauliflower thing, plus the glazed carrots recipe form the Chew. Too much sauce/fat. I had tiny bits of each. The rest of them had much larger portions, and I sent the leftovers home with Heather.
I have to say, the gift that was the biggest hit, was those furry throws from the Q, with the animal head, and paws- to put over your head, and hands. They all went nuts over them. Eveyrone enjoyed their presents, and I have my corner of my room back, until the Christmas in July sale next year.
hope you all had a great time, and Santa bought you what you wanted.
Now, we start the dismantling of the holidays next week- yuck.
I attached the pic of the Italian bread I made. Nobody ate one roll…..LOL
Adele

[adele shanbar]

#22887

Hi Gail!
Read my post to Colleen on the most popular gift- the furry animal throws from the Q.
Sounds like you all had a good items, accept for poor Kendall. Thank God they got a hold of it, before Christmas.
Here is my gift from Gary- scratch tickets. I won 10.00. LOL LOL LOL I wrapped 2 presents for myself under the tree- a set of those sponges form the Q that have the faces on them, in a cute little package, and a new butter dish to match with my Lenox Butterfly everyday dishes. I was happy. The rest of my gifts form the kids were gift certificates, a Minnion to put together, and a cute Snoopy sign that says, “You can’t be serious?”, and when you press the button, Snoopy laughs. Those 2 funny ones were from Heather.
Well, it is all over, accept for eating the rets of the left overs, and putting away all the decorations. That is my job for next week.
Hope you got a chance to talk to Brent, and found out he is happy. That would be a great Christmas present.
I bet we are all tired today.
Has anyone heard from Barbara? I hope she did not have any damage in those awful storms.
Adele

[Gail Norusis]

#22889

I posted earlier but we must have had a bad connection because it didn’t go through. We had a nice Christmas and the little ones liked their gifts. Then last night one of the furnaces went out and this morning the other one did too. So we had to call in the furnace guy at double time only for him to tell us that we are out of gas. We have propane gas and two furnaces-one for each floor of the house. We prebuy the propane to get the best price and are supposed to be on an automatic refill system. They say they filled it December 2nd which we just can’t believe. First of all I don’t remember seeing them here and second there’s no way in the 20 years that we have lived here that we would have used a full tank in three weeks! So right now we are sitting here with space heaters waiting for them to come refill the tank. They will check for leaks because as I said we shouldn’t use that much in that amount of time especially with such warm weather. Then they have to come in and bleed the lines so there isn’t an explosion when they start everything back up. I hate all this stuff with the gas-it makes me so nervous. So they are not even apologizing-just trying to tell us that it is our fault. I think they said they made a delivery but they didn’t. I guess when you prebuy they become complacent. Anyway, say a prayer that we don’t have a leak. Thank Goodness this didn’t happen yesterday with the kids here and preparing Christmas dinner. The oven is electric but I needed the stovetop for preparing the baked beans and kugelis.
I love the time after Christmas when all the decorations are still lit but all the preparation and the hustle and bustle is over and we can just be still and enjoy the gifts of the season.
Hope you all had a wonderful day. Brent said that they are expecting a snowstorm in NM of all places!
Gail

[adele shanbar]

#22892

OMG Gail!
Get out of the house, when they light it back up, just in case. It sounds like you are colder than we are. the heat was not on at all, that I noticed, the last 3 days. It has been in the high 60’s. How cold is it in your area?
We are having some kind of snow on Tuesday/Wednesday. It feels like we are in Florida. I would hate Florida at Christmas, that I know. It just does not feel like Christmas when it is this warm.
You need to get on the phone on Monday, and give them the “what for”. I am with you. They did not deliver any gas.
I hope you are all warm and cozy again.
Here is the funny part…..in the middle of the night on Christmas Eve, I woke up to a very loud sound. Like, Santa, I was walking all over the house- it was the fridge. every time the compressor comes on, it is VERY loud. Called Best Buy, and it takes them 5 days to order a part- they will come next Saturday. Still that is not as bad as a heat problem. I wonder how many Quackers had appliance issues over this holiday???? I bet Ron was opening and closing the freezer door at Colleen’s!
Hope all is well by now.
Adele

[Gail Norusis]

#22902

Hi Adele,
We have been in the forties with thirties at night. Warm for this time of year but not nearly as warm as you guys on the east coast. I have been in Florida and Louisiana at Christmas and it sure does feel different-although just like anything else it’s something you can get used to after awhile.
We sent leftovers home with Jenny but still had enough for us to eat for a second day. sometimes I think they’re better the second day.
I gave those throws or something similar to the grands the other year and they still use them. They were a big hit.
We won’t be dismantling the decorations until after January 6th so that gives us two more weeks to look at the pretty lights in the dark of winter. I just enjoy that time so much.
Brent says they are prepping for a big snow storm by him. That’s a big deal since they have no snow removal equipment and no one knows how to drive in the snow. He asked for my recipe for Lithuanian dumplings as he was going to make some of those while they are snowed in. As long as they keep power they can just wait it out.
Greg and I watched the movie Jurassic World last night. I wonder how they keep giving those people a license to build those parks? lol Something always goes wrong.
We got the heat back on-it will be interesting to see what they say about filling the tank. This guy that was out here said we should get a new gas tank too as ours was getting old. You wonder why the company did not say anything before this. It’s their tank-we don’t know how long the life of a propane tank is supposed to be.
Greg and I just gave each other silly little gifts for Christmas this year. After awhile you just run out of things to get each other and mostly we just get what we want for ourselves. I wanted one of those adult coloring books that are all the rage so Jenny got one for me with some colored pencils so now I am going to have to steal my electric pencil sharpener back from Greg’s wood shop in the basement.
Gail

[Gail Norusis]

#22928

Hi Everyone,
I hope no one is being affected by the awful weather sweeping the nation. They say that we are in for a wintry mix around here whatever that will mean. I was scheduled to take Rocky for a haircut today but the groomer called yesterday to see if I wanted to change the appointment which i immediately did and was grateful to do. First of all I have no idea why I scheduled an appointment for him on a Monday anyway knowing that is the day that I babysit. I mentioned that to Jenny Christmas day and she said just to go and I could switch days for babysitting. Now that I am not going I think I will just switch days anyway so I don’t have to go out anywhere and drive today anyway.
Colleen, I hope that you have not had flooding and Barbara I hope that the tornadoes are not headed your way. I imagine a lot of people are having flight delays after the holiday weekend. I know that they are having a blizzard in eastern New Mexico where Brent lives. They have declared a state of emergency for them.
We spent a quiet post holiday weekend eating leftovers and watching movies and football games. It’s nice to relax after all the preholiday preparations. Now it’s time to get through the long cold months of January and February. Too bad there is no warm weather vacation to look forward to. I will have to look and see what kinds of plays or concerts that I can find so that we have things to look forward too. Kendall’s birthday is in January and she has not decided whether she wants a party or wants to spend the night with her family at a local indoor water park. She has wanted a Barbie Dream House for ever so long and Jenny asked if we wanted to go in on it with her for Kendall’s birthday. Well it ended up the box was so darn big that Jenny had nowhere to hide it where Kendall wouldn’t find it so she already gave it to her. but she does really like it and this way she will have it to play with over the Christmas break.
This is funny. When Jenny asked what I wanted for Christmas I told her the new Adele CD and an adult coloring book. So when she told Adam that they were giving me an adult coloring book he had not heard of the fad and he thought it meant “adult” in the naughty movie way. So here he thought he was giving his MIL porn for Christmas! lol I haven’t used it yet but I can’t wait to try it. I was coloring some Elsa pages with Kendall and Piper last week and it really is relaxing. Your mind just kind of drifts and the stress does seem to flow away.
Adele, do you take down the decorations already or do you wait until after New Years Day. We wait until after the 6th of January. It was sort of nice having Christmas on a Friday and then having the whole weekend afterwards. Did the winner of that holiday baking program get any kind of a prize? I missed that-those people were so creative. If I had to make any of that stuff it would look like it was made by a 5 year old. lol
I hope everyone had a good Christmas and is escaping the bad weather.
Gail

[adele shanbar]

#22932

Hi Gail, and everyone!
I hope nobody has been harmed by these awful storms. I am concerned for Barbara, as she is in one of the states that got those awful tornados. I think of all the weather we all get, those are the worst. I have been praying everyone is alright. We are getting those storms tonight, into tomorrow. Mostly ice is predicted, so far- up north in NH and Maine, it will be snow.
I do not take down the decorations, until after New Years. When they all come down, it looks so empty.
We are still eating leftovers from Christmas Eve, and day. I would say I am getting tired of lasagna….LOL The cookies are disappearing at an alarming rate.
Yesterday, we went to Steph’s with some foo the kids’ presents. Amanda went with me, while Gary stayed home. His shoulder was killing him yesterday, as well as the rest of his arthritic self- it was raining here. Bobby also stopped by, to see them open some present’s. Steph is supposed to come by, to have them see Tillie, and open her presents, so she can see them. Tillie did not want to go over to Steph’s, because it is just too hard for her to get out these days, unless it is absolutely necessary.
We’ll, girls, I obviously gave in to our Mexican stand-off. On the anniversary of my Dad’s death, Dec 23rd, I made the call. because it is an emotional time for me, I had trouble leaving a message without breaking down. Steph called back, and thought someone died. Told her not yet, but that cannot be predicted. It scared her. It should have. She said I do not cry, so she got real scared. I felt my Nonna was in my ear saying,” this cannot continue- family is everything.” So, I caved. She is supposed to come over some time this week, as it is Aizen’s birthday on Wednesday. I hope they can make it, as Jhonny has been working every day, all day. His only day off was Christmas. He loves being a mailman.
I think it was great for Kendall to get the gift early, for the same reason- she can play with it all during vacation. I bet she was thrilled!
More than one person thinks the adult coloring books are porn. My friend Nancy has them, and her family thought the same thing. When I mentioned it here, Heather looked like a deer in the headlights, as she never heard of them before either. They are gaining in popularity. Nancy finds them very relaxing.
The winner of the baking show got a trophy. I think they got money, but, I am not sure. My old brain is showing….LOL
Hope everyone is safe, warm, and still has a roof over their head.
Adele

[adele shanbar]

#22934

Hi Gail
Definitely get those tanks changed. Propane gets everyone nervous. We had that in NH. It is a lot more common up there, as it is more rural, and the campgrounds all have it too.
I hope his power, and can make the dumplings. So, what are they? We may all want that recipe.
I was going to start to put away decorations, but, then I changed my mind, as I always do it after the New Year.
Hope you are safe, and warm. These storms are brutal. I figure it will be our turn again, soon.
Adele

[Colleen]

#22940

Hi Gail and Adele,
We have been really busy around here. We had our last Christmas dinner Sunday. That is nice that we are done with all the meals. There are getting to be too many of them. At least mom just had sandwiches and snacks. It was much better then a big meal again. She did serve ham though. I think that everyone looked at the ham and thought oh no not again. We had a nice day. I got enough PJs to last me for a couple of years. I told everyone something different but ended up with all pjs. It was funny.
We have been having so much rain around here it is terrible. There is flooding around here but not close enough to effect us. We can still get to the store. It has been raining here since Saturday and has not stopped. It is supposed to get really cold tonight and we are hoping that it does not turn into ice. They have the salt trucks out now and they are probably putting that stuff down that is supposed to melt the ice if it falls. I do not know how it is going to work but hope that it does.
What is the weather like for the the two of you in your area? Hope that you do not get a lot of ice Gail and it does not snow a lot there Adele. It is interesting that you are getting porn for Christmas Gail. I had to laugh at that. Your have stopped pole dancing and are coloring pictures now. lol That is just too funny.
We had to change out our gas tank. We ended up buying our own so we can pick who we want to get our gas from. It is really nice. We can pick the cheaper price and not have to go with the same company all the time. It makes it really nice. We can dicker about the price also. We have different offers and we can go to one company and tell them what the other company is offering. THey will usually come down on the price.
We have two of the grands here still they are staying with us until Thursday. It is nice to have them here. Ron took them shopping and let Ethan buy this really big box of micro wave popcorn. I could not believe that he let him do that. It will last at least a month or longer. The man has no sense.
I am glad that you and Steph had made up. That went on for too long. I imagine that the kids were glad to see you. That probably made your Christmas better. I hope that all of you had a great time.
Gail that is funny that Jenny could not hide Kendall’s birthday present. It was nice that she will get to have her present to play with all Christmas vacation. I did not realize that the house was that big. They are really cute thought.
Did anyone hear who won the Christmas money from Quacker factory? I have not seen it posted yet. I hope whoever won it will enjoy spending it. That would be a nice Christmas surprise.
Better go Ron is getting tired of watching the kids. Talk to you later.
Colleen

[adele shanbar]

#22944

Hey Colleen!
Glad you are ok, and not flooded, or snowed in. We are getting the storm tonight, into tomorrow. they are predicting snow first, then ice. Yuck! glad I do not have to go anywhere. Up further north, NH and Maine, they will get blasted with snow. All those who went up north for the week to play in the snow, will be getting the snow now.
I am glad we made up too. It was really bothering me.
I do not think anyone around here can buy their own gas tank, or if they can, nobody knows they can. I will have to share that piece of news, and see if it is possible in New England. that would certainly be a fabulous thing to do!
I hope you have a good time with the grand’s. they are so much fin to have around.
Ron certainly is amusing with his idea of how much popcorn a kid can have.
hope you have a great night- Quacker is on….yahoo!
Adele

[Gail Norusis]

#22959

Hi Adele,
Well we got ice first and then we have snow covering the ice-so you can plow up the snow but there is still the ice underneath.
We just finished the last of the leftovers last night although we still have a tiny bit of prime rib and some ham left. That was nice-cook once-eat for four days.
I’m glad that you went to see Steph and got to see the kids again. You are right-neither your Dad or your grandmother would want the estrangement to continue. I’m glad that Jhonny is liking the job and I hope he gets brought on permanently.
I was just so surprised about the adult coloring books as I had assumed that everyone had heard of the new trend. Anyway, it was good for a chuckle. Maybe that ‘s an idea for new subject matter for the coloring books. The Kama Sutra and The Joy of Sex coloring books! lol
The dumplings are actually kind of like perogis except they are filled with ground beef with finely chopped onion and green pepper and after they are boiled they are served with bacon bits over them(not the fake ones but real bacon). I have not heard back from Brent since he made his-the store was all out of green peppers so he was going to use green chilis instead-I called that Lithuanian cooking with a New Mexico flair. lol
Now I have to figure out what to make for dinner tonight since we have consumed all the leftovers. That kugelis was so good. We don’t make it often enough because grating the potatoes is such a chore.
I wish we would get some sunny days. The weather has been so glum. Even if it’s cold outside it feels so much better just to see some sunshine. I think I must suffer from a mild case of that Seasonal Affective disorder-whether the sun shines in the winter has a massive affect on my mood. And the fact that it gets dark so early makes me sleepy so much earlier too. Am I the only one that it affects this way?
Gail

[Gail Norusis]

#22961

Hi Colleen,
I forgot that you had all those Christmas dinners to go to. I actually don’t mind eating ham a lot. My Mom could have a ham sandwich every day for lunch and I am a lot like that and so is Kendall.
That’s funny that everyone gave you pajamas. Maybe they all think that you should rest more.lol
You know I don’t know if you can buy your own gas tank or not around here. It just never came up before. I guess we just continued to use the same company at the new house that we did at the old so I never thought too much about it. Everyone around here has propane as out in the country there are no natural gas lines. I suppose someone will bring it in eventually if they find it profitable enough.
One day I saw the winners of the contests popped up somewhere when I first came on the site but it disappeared before I could read it all. I’m sure if we search around there must be a place where they list the winner. How much money was it? Do you know? I wish one of us would have won something from the years giveaways. That would have been neat.
How is Danyielle feeling? Probably ready to go just about now. It’s getting close. You must be so excited.
Gail

[adele shanbar]

#22964

Hi Gail
We had a couple of inches of snow, and now, it is sleeting/freezing rain. I hope Heather and Frankie get back here safely. I hate them being out on the road in this weather. Gary should be back shortly- he only had a couple of people to see today.
I actually got the vacuuming done yesterday, and today’s task is the floor swiffering. The house gets so dusty with all the baking, and activity. I feel like the place is trashed.
Did I tell you the dam fridge broke, on Christmas Eve?? The fan motor stopped working. The part is being delivered today, and the repair man will be here this evening. yesterday, the awful nose stopped, and the water and ice feature stopped. Today, everything in the deli drawer was frozen. As I got some special stuff for the holidays, I will make a claim. I had some very nice cheeses form the Saxelbury Cheese co, and 4 jars of the English Clotted Cream, plus a very pricey butter I was using all through the holidays. The nuts, and grated cheeses should be ok. Did not have a lot foo cold cuts in there- mostly cheeses. I just re-ordered some foo the cheeses, as they were so good,,,,Gouda, a fabric wrapped cheddar, and a camerbert. All were made at small dairy farms in New England. I am ticked. They charge 20.00 just for delivery. We put the milk and roast in Tillie’s fridge this morning, as those are about to go. I was doing a pot roast in the crock pot tomorrow, but the roast changed color overnight. I will have Bobby look at it, or it may have to go too. the repair people told us the fridge would hold it’s temp, just run all the time. Not! I could scream, as I would have sent the meat and dairy downstairs last night. So far, the freezer is still holding. Tillie has her own stuff downstairs, so I cannot move everything down there- it is a much smaller fridge. I hope this gets fixed tonight- he is coming between 4 and 8.
What is up with all of us having appliance issues this holiday week????
It is still gross here, so far. It was supposed to stop this afternoon, but it does no look like it will.
I hope you get sun today, so you will feel better.
I am glad we are talking. I hope she comes over tomorrow, if the weather is better, as it is Aizen’s birthday. Will have to see if the ice stops.
those dumplings sound good. We had a run on things at the supermarket up here too. Bobby could not get any jumbo eggs, or green beans. the dairy was real low on stock too. Go figure! It could have been a combo of the holiday, and the storm coming. Who knows.
Hope your day is better…..have to go Swiffer the floors.
Adele

[Colleen]

#22979

Hi Adele,
I cannot believe that you have snow. I am glad that you did not have as much moisture as we did or you would be snowed in again. We cannot get to my mom’s anymore because of the flooding. The town Union is all under water and that is one of the towns that we have to go thru to get there. The water was close to the road when we were coming back from her house Sunday but was not over the road yet. We always stop at the QT station and get a soda and that is now all under water. I am so glad that we left when we did or we would have gotten caught in all of that mess. My brother gets to her house another way so he is going to pick her up so she is not trapped in the house without a way out. So she will be with him until after the New Year. I just hope that the water goes down soon.
It will be good for Tillie to see the grands. She is probably excited to see them open their Christmas presents. I know that you will be happy. So what kind of treats are you baking for them for when they come over? I know that you will be baking something.
I really love having the grands here but they are a lot of work. I forget how much work they can be. They do argue a lot but they are brother and sister and their is a big difference in their ages. So Ethan does not want Kaylee to touch his stuff or get in his back pack. That is what their mom packed their clothes in. So it has been a real challenge. He will stop fighting with her if I tell him to settle down. Then we get the we do not like him like we like her. One day and I am going to say you are right but you come together so we put up with you. He won’t say it again. Be afraid of what I will tell him. No I would not do that. Would not want to hurt his feelings.
We could not buy one when we first moved here but then they changed the rules and you could. We bought ours from a guy that worked for the gas company. So we knew it was safe and it had to be inspected so there was no chance that it would not be a good one. We have had it for a long time now. No problems so far. That is terrible that you fridge went out over the holidays. I hope that you roast was okay and you could use it. That is terrible that it happened right then. Hope that they put the new part on and it is working really good again.
Well that is all from here. Have a good night.
Colleen

[Colleen]

#22981

Hi Gail,
I do not like it when we do not see the sun very much. It really makes me feel down. We are so sick of rain that we could all scream not that it would do any good. I sleep a lot when it rains. It seems like there is nothing else to do. I have to start reading again. I stopped right before Christmas we had so much to do.
I will have to keep looking for the winners for the prizes for December. The cash amount was 500 dollars. That would really have come in handy around this time of year. Tax time. It seems like all of our big bills come due in December. Insurance, taxes and then all the Christmas things that we have to get. We always have a lot of last minute things that we need to buy.
I like ham but we all make it the same way. It would have been fun to have something different. I guess we all make it like my mom did. So that is why it is all the same. She covers her whole ham with cloves though and I do not use that many. Don’t have the patience. Do you use cloves on your ham? Did not know if they do that everywhere or if it is a Missouri thing. We use pineapple, brown sugar and cloves on the top of the ham. Guess the recipe started with my great grandma or maybe back farther then that. I know that my grandma made hers like that.
Danyielle is feeling okay. She is ready for the baby to come. She thinks that the baby will come early and I agree with her. The baby was not turned right and they thought they were going to have to turn her but she finally turned on her own. So we do not have to worry about that now. They have been doing more ultra sounds on her then I can remember them doing before. Maybe it was because of the way the baby was turned. Did they do that to Jenny with Piper? ( do a lot of ultra sounds)
I told Adele about all the flooding near my mom’s. We drove thru the one town that is under water now. The town is Union Mo. It is a mess. We are glad that we left when we did or we would still be at my mom’s. Across the road from the gas station there is a Mac Donalds, video store and a new hotel. That is all under water also. The hotel is not completely covered it has three floors. We are not sure if the gas station on that side of the road is under water or not. It is really weird.
Not much else going on here. The grands are at their aunts for the night because I have a doctors appointment tomorrow. Will pick them up after the doctors and the fun will begin again.
Talk to you later.
Colleen

[Gail Norusis]

#22986

Hi Adele,
We have ice under the snow here. That’s why when I went out to put something in the mailbox yesterday I drove the car down to the end of the driveway. I told Greg that there was ice under the snow and he doesn’t pay attention to me and fell when he was putting the garbage cans out this morning. I have given everyone those grippers to put on their shoes but no one but me ever uses them. He twisted his ankle and i told him if it gets swollen during the day to go to an urgent care and get checked out but he probably won’t.
I hope that you got your fridge fixed. I would be mad if I lost all those cheeses and the special butter too. We store a lot of things that are worth good money in our fridges-probably even more so around the holidays. I think I would not eat the pot roast if it has changed color. Now what exactly is clotted cream and what does one use it for. It seems like I have read about people using it in books that were set in England and they spoon it on top of something but I can’t remember quite what.
So Aizen is almost a New Years baby. He just missed it by a day. Which is probably good because they could use his tax deduction an extra time then. lol
Anyone have any big New Year’s plans? Anymore we just stay home and fall asleep on the couch way before midnight. A few years back I decided to do something different and I booked a sitting for us at this one place that was having like a five course meal just to do something different. But I booked the early seating which was 5 o’clock so we could be done and home before the crazies were out. Well we ate this big dinner and were probably home by seven thirty and probably asleep by 8. lol We will probably have dinner at home and watch some movies-that’s what we’ve done the last several years and it’s supposed to get pretty cold so who wants to be out.
Gail

[Gail Norusis]

#22988

Hi Colleen,
I’m glad that your brother went to get your Mom. That flooding in Missouri is getting very dangerous so it’s good to know that she will be safe with him until the waters go down. You must really have massive amounts of rain. If it was snow you would be buried in it. I heard from Brent and they made it through the blizzard okay. I suppose it will warm up there and the snow will melt away in no time.
My Mom used to put cloves and pineapple on the ham but I don’t care for cloves that much so I leave them off. I use a mixture of brown sugar and vinegar for the glaze. That is a family thing. I don’t think anyone else does it. Sometimes I use pineapple sometimes not. Mom used to do the pineapple with the maraschino cherries in the middle to make it look pretty. I think that must have been a very 40’s and 50’s thing.
Jenny had all her kids by c-section so it didn’t really matter that much if the baby was turned I don’t think; but they do a lot of ultrasounds towards the end to check to make sure the baby is mature enough to be delivered because they seem to like to schedule the c-section about a week or more before the baby is actually due so they don’t run into any complications with the Mom going into early labor. I think Piper’s actual due date was new Year’s Eve and she was born December 21st.
I hope your doctor’s visit goes well. Tell him to give you an energy pill to help deal with the grandkids. I love having them around but boy they do wear you out. We are just not used to that level of activity around here anymore. Do you have to drive them back or are Melissa and Stephen coming to pick them up?
Gail

[adele shanbar]

#22990

Hi Colleen
How is the water situation today? I am praying you do not get flooded. That is very scary. I have been watching the news, and wondering how you all are. Are your kids ok, where they live?
The roast got spoiled- I was doing it in the crock pot today. Not now. because I have the contract on the fridge, I was able to put in a claim for the lost food- it was all the dairy, and the roast. the rest of the food was ok, including the vegies and fruit.
I hope the grands don’t drive you crazy, because you cannot get them home right now! I am praying for all of you to be safe. this weather is awful.
We have all ice now, so I do not think Steph will be over today. the slushy snow froze. I do not think it will last long.
I think the people in NH and Mass. would be thrilled if they could buy our own tanks. That was a great law for all of you.
I am pooped from all the fridge cleaning, after swiffering the floors yesterday. All the food had to be taken out, to put in the fan. So, I purged the fridge, and then cleaned all the shelves while they were empty. Had to throw out all the leftovers form the holiday too. we did not want to take a chance, since the roast smelled so gross already. It was bought Sunday, and rotten by Tuesday. That says a lot for proper temperatures in the fridge.
I hope the rain stopped.
Adele

[adele shanbar]

#22992

Hi Gail
Our plans got changed by the weather. Gary and I were going to an early f dinner- not with all this ice. We have ice on top of the snow. I would not put my big toe out there….LOL
I hope Greg’s ankle is better- a lousy time to have to go to the ER, on, or close to New Year’s Eve.
read my post to Colleen for the fridge news. Oh no…..when we took the roast back upstairs, it stunk to high Heaven. That is gone, so it will be frozen chicken fingers tonight. The freezer remained frozen. I put that good butter in the freezer yesterday, and will take a chunk out as needed.(It came in 4 balls, instead of sticks)
I am afraid for Colleen and her family. I hope the flooding stops.
have you heard from Barbara? I hope to God she is ok. this weather has been very scary for a lot of people.
I hope you tow can still go out tomorrow night, and that Greg’s foot does not change your plans.
Clotted cream come sin a jar. We used to get it on a scone when I took the girls to the Wenham tea House for high tea….LOL. So, I got some for home. It is like butter, but not salted, and has a richer taste than butter. You should get one to try- you can get it on Ebay, form the Devon Cream co, English clotted cream. It comes form England- not made here at all for some reason. I like it on my English muffin, or the raisin bagel.
Hope your weather is better, and the ice is gone!!! I do not think Steph will take the kids out today, with all this ice. Plus, I could not go and get her, either.
Adele

[Barbara Smith]

#23027

Hello everyone. I have missed you all so much but we are okay from all this flooding that is happening. The water is so high, but I have really worried about Colleen, and our family in Missouri. Our family members live close to Springfield, and there is lots of flooding and storms. We have had some really bad storms, and lots of rain, but God has really watched over our area and no tornadoes. They have been all around us. The poor people in Mississippi have lost so many lives there and I know also in Missouri and other areas. Our weather up until today, has been so hot, up in the 70’s and so humid. Our back patio has been just soaking wet with the humidity; so any time that anyone comes in the door; it just brings in so much trash on their feet. We have started just leaving our shoes by the door on a rug. But today, the cold is here; down in the 40’s. We had a very good Christmas celebration. We finally all were able to be together on Saturday. The only down side was that Lisa caught Joey completely off guard in her expecting a ring. They have not gone to the premarital counseling yet (which is my requirement for them to continue to live out here with us). Adele, I think you would be proud of me. I have done so much thinking and praying about the right thing to do (or NOT do) where the boys are concerned, and Jerry and I really feel that since Joey and Lisa have had so much problems in their relationship, that they can only benefit from counseling, and help them, and certainly not hurt either of them to really get to know one another through a trained person in the matters of the heart. So, since they have not gone yet (next class held at church doesn’t start until the end of January); we are not sure why she had her expectations set so high this soon. But they really do seem to be getting along so much better, and seem so much happier together. Also, Lisa was sent home from work today; she has shingles. She has been complaining of pain around her side and ribs, but she just thought it was from all those broken ribs she suffered from; but not so in this case. The bumps just came up yesterday, and she is in such pain. Joey is off tonight and tomorrow night. I had shingles once many years ago. Have any of you all? It was terribly painful.
Do you all have special plans for New Years Eve? Jerry and I will be watching Jimmy Stewart in the movie, It’s a Wonderful Life. That has been a New Years Eve tradition for he and I for as long as I can remember. We drink some of his homemade egg nog that was his Dad’s special recipe, and I get kind of loopy, since I am not much of a drinker, it only takes a small amount to make me feel really good. So the boys all know that he and I will be having a quiet night to bring in the new year. I love to watch the ball drop in Time Square on the TV. The boys don’t go out and do the party thing. Joey has to work Friday, Sat, and Sunday nights. Our little outside doggies will be barking and barking at all the fireworks in the area. It really scares them. Poor little things just shake and shake. Auto Kitty goes and gets in his box (a QVC box of course) that I sit in the middle of the bed; I think since he fits in it like a glove that it keeps him really warm; and he picks his head up occasionally, but for the most part doesn’t pay any attention to the noise. It can really get loud out here. Do you all have celebrations? I saw where some are having ice and snow. Sure hope you all are okay. We usually get ice storms when the temp drops; with sleet and that is so much worse on us down here; because the South is not built for ice. You can’t see it on the roads, and it causes so many wrecks. I used to worry so much about Jerry when he would be driving all over the country. He would go from hot to cold and all things in between. Our son in New Mexico is having snow and ice for the first time in many years there. His wife called at Christmas, and I could hear him talking in the background; but she never asked if I would like to speak to him. So hard for me to accept but it is what it is.
Jerry has been SO busy with his Mom. He is taking her for her doctor appointments, to the bank, car dealership to repair her car, and she is begging him to help her with her things to keep the other two from holding her captive in their home. Would you believe that she actually had to sneak out of her youngest sons house one night, went to a neighbors home and begged the neighbor to call the police, that her son was refusing to let her go to her own home, the police came and her son said she is ‘crazy’ so they took her to a mental hospital to have her evaluated. Jerry knew nothing of this until one day when he called to try to talk with her, and his nephew told him she was back at her own home. He went to her home and found out that the phych hospital has kept her for a week and ran all kinds of mental tests on her and found her to be mentally competent to go to her own home. Those two sons are trying to say she is insane. One has already gotten control of her banking, and they are writing checks from her account. It is an absolute shame. So Jerry has been so busy trying to help her. What a mess this all is.
Now, for the greatest, most wonderful, most exciting news all——————OUR BABY BOY IS HAVING A BABY! He asked me two days ago real casually like, if I am ready to be a grandmother again? I was SO excited I just cried and cried. Our other grand child was eight when Buddy and her Mom married; so I haven’t ever been able to be there from the very beginning. We love her; so I can only imagine how happy we will be watching all the changes taking place with Sarah as the months pass. I can tell that Neal is a little nervous; he said he is really hoping to be a good Daddy, and he also said he knows now that his whole life has changed with those few words. Joey is beyond belief excited for Neal and Sarah. He just hugged and hugged them both. That made me cry too. All happy tears. Sarah has had quite a bit of morning sickness; but all is all; things are going okay. So that was the best Christmas present they could have ever given us. So as you can tell, our lives have lots going on. I know you all are so happy for us. I just couldn’t wait to tell you all.
Will close for now, and hope and pray you all are doing okay. We have been so very busy that I will have to read your posts to catch up on all your news. Take care and be careful everyone.
Hugs, Grannie Barbara from the cold and wet state of Tennessee

[Colleen]

#23030

HI Adele,
That is such a shame that you had to throw all of that food away. You made such good stuff for Christmas. I would be upset also. I am glad that you have insurance that will pay for all that food that you had. All those really good cheeses. I would have been upset also. that butter sounds really good. Will you be able to get more of that are is it too hard to get? Hope that you will have all the food you need for News Year eve and day. I can imagine you have a good snack for News Years eve. We are having sausages and cheese for that night. That is about all. We do not have any type of sweets. I forgot to get the black peas for News Years day. That is supposed to help you to have a prosperous year. Oh well it has never worked in the past so probably would not work now either.
We are all okay here. The high way that was flooded by Melissa is now cleared. The highway does not stay under water that long. This weather has been crazy this year. I am hoping that next year the weather will be better. At least more predictable. The situation with my mom is the same but my brother can get to her. We would have to go to his house in St. Louis and got the roads that he takes to get to her house. It would really take us a long time to get there. As long as he is with my brother I do not have to worry about her. My other two girls are just fine. It does not flood where they are. So we are all fine.
Sounds like your weather situation is worse then ours. All the ice and snow. That makes it really hard to get around. Sorry that you will not get to go out for dinner. Maybe you can call and have it delivered to you. At least you would not have to cook. Put candles on the table and just the two of you sit down to a good meal. Sometimes that is just as good as going out. Candle lit dinner with romantic music playing in the back ground. Do it early so no one will bother the two of you and just have a nice time. We won’t be able to enjoy a meal like that this year. Maybe next year.
Well take it easy and do not strain your back. You do not want to be in pain for the next few days. Take care will talk to you later.
Colleen

[Gail Norusis]

#23033

Hi Adele,
Greg is still limping around but he seems to be okay. Time will tell if he tore a ligament or something. I hope the weather will clear up so that you can at least see Aizen close to his birthday and so that Tillie will get a chance to see the kids too. Now we are going to have a dip in the temperatures so Greg will have to fire up the heated floor in the master bath. When we built this house we kind of tweaked the plans and we moved the master bath out over the garage so there is a hall from the bedroom with closets on either side that lead to the bathroom. It gave us a lot more room but with the bathroom over the garage we ended up having pipes freezing in the really cold weather. So Greg and Brent built a system where we have an electric hot water heater that pumps hot water through the floor of the bathroom to keep the pipes heated. It’s good to have a husband who can figure these things out and then actually put them in to practice.
I babysat today and Piper actually had clothes on-at least she did when i arrived-by the time i left she was pantless as when she takes down her pants to use her froggy potty she often doesn’t put them back on. Lachlan was busy the whole time playing with legos and after awhile when i was playing with the girls he said, “Gigi will you play with me?” How could I resist? I guess because Piper is the smallest and she demands the most attention I usually end up playing with her and he feels left out. Of course i went over and played legos and then everyone else did too. I figure it won’t be too many years from now when he won’t want me to play with him anymore.
I can’t decide whether to do a dinner for new Years Eve or just do snacks for the evening. I don’t have this very well planned out this year for some reason. Too much other stuff going on I guess. A lot of times we make our own chicken liver pate and I make deviled eggs and we have shrimp cocktail and things like that for dinner. this year I have nothing planned so we will just wing it.
I hope that you got your refrigerator fixed and are back in business. Anyone have any traditions of food that they have to eat on New Year’s. My mother always made us eat that creamed herring for luck. Yuck!
Gail

[Gail Norusis]

#23035

Hi Barbara,
Congratulations on the baby news. I can imagine that you are over the moon. When will she be due? Sometime this summer?
I’m sorry to hear that Lisa got shingles. Ouch! I hope that she and Joey work things out. How many years have they been together? It seems like a long time.
I hope that Jerry can get things straightened out for his Mom. That is awful that the one son has control of the checking account. I wonder if she could stop payments on that account or something. The bank shouldn’t be letting someone else use her account without some kind of written permission from her or if the son has power of attorney. There really should be some way to stop him since he’s basically stealing what is hers.
I’m glad that you were safe from all the tornadoes. Brent lives in the part of eastern new Mexico that got all the snow.
I’m glad that you were all able to get together for a Christmas dinner even if it was the day after. I always say it doesn’t matter which day it is as long as you all can be together.
Gail

[adele shanbar]

#23040

Hi Gail
I used to make these “zucchini puffs’ as an appetizer for New Years. But, after my Dad died, I don’t think I made them often. They are really good, but involve a lot of standing to fry them. Gary would never eat anything like that, so no need for tonight.
I am going to dust at least half the house furniture, and maybe more, if I can get it done. At least the bedrooms and office. Then, tomorrow I will get the tree down and do the rest of what I did not do today. My goal was to get everything cleaned, so I can spend my time next week putting everything away, closet by closet. What a sad goal for the New Year…..LOL
The fridge is back up and running. All is fine. It is so quiet you hear nothing when it is on. the repair man said the fan was probably broken upon delivery, and it took that long to go.
I am so glad we heard from Barbara!
you sound like you had a ball with the grands. they are so much fun. I got to talk to Aizen yesterday, and he told me he loved me. He is so cute when he says that. Jhonny said he took the Fisher Price bus we gave him to bed. it is his favorite toy, because he knows the bus brings his JJ back home from school. Jhonny is working all day, today, and had to go in at 6am, so they are going to try to get here tomorrow, as that is his only day off this week. As a temp, they have been working him real hard, but he doe snot mind. he loves the Post Office. I hope they will put him on permanent. He is such a good, and hard worker, and I hope they see that.
Poor Greg. I hope the foot doe snot get worst. he sounds very handy around the house. What a great idea to stop the pipes from freezing. I have heard of those floors to make them warmer in winter.
Just got Gary’s surgery day for his shoulder- Feb 3rd.
We are staying home tonight- too icy at night right now. I have no idea what we will eat, as this is the worst for take-out. I may just do a simple frozen chicken fingers and baked fries…..LOL
Have a Happy New Year!
Adele

[adele shanbar]

#23042

hi Colleen
read my post to Gail, for all the info on the fridge, etc.
I am so glad you are all ok. We were really worried about all of you.
You have a lot more interesting menu items for tonight than we do, for sure! It is going to be quite boring here. I did not even bake today….LOL
We are covered for the food in the fridge, so that is good. The butter did not go bad, because I immediately threw it in the freezer, and the freezer section was fine. That is great, because you can only get that butter on Thanksgiving and Christmas.
How is the pregnancy coming along? She only has a few weeks left!
hope you have a good New Years Eve, and a Happy New Year!!!
Adele

[adele shanbar]

#23044

Congratulations Barbara!!!!
What wonderful news to hear on Christmas. You will all be so happy with the new bundle of joy. Our Aizen turned 2 yesterday. Can you imagine how fast it goes? You wills see how quick the birth comes, and how fast the little one turns 1. Now we all have another grand to look forward to. Colleen’s first, and your second. Do you know the delivery day yet? I bet you will be busy getting your house ready for a baby to visit. then the shower, of course.
I love good news. Such a happy event.
I am proud of you. We have to be careful where our son’s girls are involved. We walk on eggs with them, or we are in the dog house.
Nothing planned here, accept watch the celebration’s on TV, and pray nothing happens, anywhere. It will be slippery out here tonight to go out. It will get better over the weekend, I think.
on to Jerry’s mother. May I suggest contacting the Elder Services you have in your state. They will be on this, like white on rice. Their advocacy in her name, is much better than Jerry getting in the middle of it. This is really considered elder abuse. I would also give the local police Dept. a call, to give them a heads up as to what is really going on, should they get another call. But, they may want to prosecute, so maybe not a good idea, if Jerry does not want to go that way. The hardest thing for the police when called in these situations, is to figure out who is the good guy, and who is the bad guy. They need some help there, get another call. Shame on all of them. How does anyone treat their elderly mother like that?? Jerry must be beside himself with worry. how is she doing back in her house? Will they give her checkbook back, and her be able to get their names off her accounts, without legal involvement? I feel so bad for all of you.
I hope you have a good New Years Eve, and a healthy, happy, New Year.
Adele

[Colleen]

#23061

Hi Barbara,
That is so exciting about the new baby. You are going to have such a good time holding and spoiling the baby. Do they know when it is due? Ours will be here January 12th. We will have grand children close to the same age. We can talk about all the things that they do and get into.
I am so glad to hear that you are okay. Those storms are really scary. We did not have any storms we just had a lot of rain. We do not have any flooding around here but there are places all over Missouri that have been flooded. This is strange weather for December. Can you imagine what it would have been like it that had all been snow. We would all be snowed in and not able to go anywhere.
I love that movie. You can get loopy and have fun watching the movie. You have a lot to celebrate with the new baby coming. We had some egg nog but nothing in it though. It would be better if it did. We got the egg nog from the store. They have all different flavors. Jerry’s would taste so much better though. I do not think that I have ever had it made fresh. Always got the kind that they sell.
That is wise suggestion. It will not hurt them to go to counseling. It does not hurt to go and listen to someone that is not family. That is sad that she was so disappointed. She probably wants to be engaged so bad that she did not think of the rest. Hope that it does not cause trouble between them. They seem to be doing so good now.
Jerry’s mom sneaking out of that house was the best thing that she could have done. It is good that Jerry found out where she was and now is taking care of her. I hope that she can stop them from getting into her checking account. Maybe Jerry should take her to the bank and let her open up another account that her other sons do not know about so they cannot get into that one. That would be a surprise if they went to get some money out of her bank and it was all gone. She now knows which of her sons loved her because she is their mother and not for her money. That is just so sad. She treated Jerry so bad a lot of the time. I hope that he can get that all changed. She will be broke and have nothing. What a mean thing to do to his mom.
We are not doing anything tonight. We have the grand kids and my daughter is coming back tonight. We usually go out to dinner and then come home and listen to the oldies and at midnight we have a drink to bring in the New Year. We usually to thing with friends but we had to change everything. It will be different but we will see what happens.
You will make a good grandma. I am so happy for you and Jerry.
Colleen
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!

[Colleen]

#23071

Hi Gail,
Did the storms come up as far as where you live? I know that there are a few places in Illinois that have flooded. I think that they are closer to the Mo. border. I guess that you are getting a lot of snow and ice your way. I hope that you can get out and not stranded at home.
I am sorry to hear about Greg’s foot. Hope that it is getting better. Did he ever go to the doctor and have it checked out? Men do not think that they need a doctor. They can fix everything them selves. They are strange at times.
It is funny how we all have different traditions. I guess it is the area that you live in or the family did things different. It has been interesting to hear of all the different that just our group here makes. It is fun to hear all the traditions that every family has. When we lived in Illinois it was hard to get use to calling soda, pop. No one here calls it pop it is soda. Do they call it pop where you live? There were a few other things that they said different then we did.
Melissa and Stephen are coming back to pick them up. I guess they are staying here to celebrate the New Year. They cannot get to Danyielles because highway is closed at that part of hy. 55. This is such a mess. I do not know how they would get there.
Did you get your washing machine fixed? I know that Greg was working on it but do not remember if he got it fixed right or not. I hope that he did so you did not have to get another one. Have you tried those detergent pods for the washing machine? I really like those. You do not have to measure out the liquid or the powder which ever you use. You just drop it in and it dissolves and that is it. It is so convenient. We got a big box of them at Costco. So will not have to get anymore for awhile.
My mom is safe and sound at my brothers now. I am so glad that she is there and not stuck at home. He will take her home when all the water has gone down and she will not have to worry about that. He can get her to stay longer then any of the rest of us. He just will not take her home until she just really demands it. Sometime she will not bring enough medicine with her so they have to take her home. Usually he will work around that. He is the only boy and the baby and so he gets away with a lot more then us girls.
Do you have big plans for tonight? I cannot remember if you said anything or not. the kids are talking to me as I am doing this so if it sounds strange you know why. We are going to end up staying here with the kids and their parents. That sounded like I was mad at them but I am not. lol
Well that is about all from here. You may have to put Greg in the car and take him to the doctor with that foot if he does not go.
Colleen

[Colleen]

#23075

Hi Adele,
The water has crested in a lot of places and is going down. I will be glad when it has all gone down and everyone can go home and get around again. They all have a lot of work cleaning those places up. I feel really bad for them. That is going to be such a mess. There was one place they had time to get some of their personal things out before it flooded. They live close to the river so they know the signs. I feel bad for the people that live a little further away and had not idea that it would reach them. It is just sad.
I am glad that they got your fridge fixed and that you are covered for the food that you lost. That is so strange that the fan was broken for that long. You would think that it would have happened a long time ago. Well at least it is fixed now and you will get your money back on all that food. That is really good.
It will be nice to see Steph and the kids tomorrow. Hope that the weather is better then it was. That is great that Johnny likes his job at the post office. Maybe after the holidays they will keep him on there. They may have an opening. He seems to be a really hard worker and that is unusual for the post office. They may keep him just to show the others how to do it. Around here we could use a post office worker like him. Our post man leaves a lot to be desired. He hardly wants to deliver the mail. If he has a package that he cannot cram into our mailbox he sits in his car and honks his horn until we come out and he can hand it to us. If we do not come out he takes it back to the post office. He is a real charmer.
So Gary has another surgery coming up. I hope he gets thru this one okay. What did he do to his shoulder? You probably have said but it has escaped me. Hopefully this will be the end of his surgeries. You two have really have had a rough year. I hope that 2016 is a lot better for you.
Well that is about all from here. Better go and check on what the kids are doing. Will talk to you later.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!
Colleen

[Colleen]

#23077

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! To everyone. I hope that all of you have a healthy and happy new year.

[adele shanbar]

#23080

I am right there with Colleen on this one!

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALLOUR QUACKER FRIENDS!

May we all stay healthy, and upright, with no more problems for the upcoming year.

Love
Adele

[adele shanbar]

#23082

Hi Colleen
I am glad the water is starting to recede. What a horrible thing for everyone. I would say I will always live far, far away form any body of water. Although beautiful, nobody can control the flow.
Hope you and Ron have a good time tonight, and can stay up until midnight. I have not made it for years, but, now that I am retired I am used to seeing the monologue on the late night shows, so I think this will be the year I am up.
I hope they are not all too tired form tonight, to visit tomorrow….LOL They are night owls, and stay up late, when they are all home.
I am so glad I took out the contract on that fridge. I would have been out a lot of money, and food. A thing to be grateful for today, for sure.
Have a safe, and happy New Years Eve!
Adele

[Gail Norusis]

#23084

Hello Everyone,
Happy New Year to all Quackers!
Colleen, we mainly got snow and ice no rain. I’m glad that your Mom will be safe and I hope the waters recede soon. All these natural disasters have been awful this week between Christmas and New Years. I hope all the people celebrating will be safe tonight as there were more warnings of possible terrorist activities. It must be horrible to be in law enforcement and have to be at high alert all the time now.
I have used those wash machine pods for both the laundry wash machine and the dish washer. Costco does have some great deals on cleaning products and they come in such large amounts that you don’t have to get more for a long time. Greg did get my machine fixed and it works fine-I’m glad that i didn’t have to get a new one as i really like the one that i have. We call soda both pop and soda around here. I’m not sure if one is used more than the others. In some places in the south all pop is coke-I could never figure that one out-what if you want 7Up or orange. Maybe it’s because Atlanta is the big home of Coca Cola-my old roommate is a bigwig with Coke in Atlanta. I would have never thought back when we lived together(not lived together like boyfriend and girlfriend but as apartment mates) that he would ever have had such a big successful job. But I’ll bet that he’s a good schmoozer which is important in business. Isn’t it exciting about Barbara’s news. Now she can be a Quacker grandma too!
Adele, I’m glad that your refrigerator is running(well you better go catch it!} Remember that old joke? And that you will get reimbursed for the lost food. Is that through your homeowners insurance?
I didn’t know that Gary was having shoulder surgery. i must have missed that somewhere. What will they do?
Greg and I were out early today on some business and when we got done he actually suggested that we go to urgent care to have his ankle looked at. They say he just has a sprain but we’ll see. They didn’t take an xray or anything. So I guess if it doesn’t start to get better he will have to go back to the regular doctor. I’m just surprised it didn’t take more urging-but now he feels bad that he went and nothing was really wrong that he couldn’t have taken care of on his own. But you never know. I have known people who have broken arms and legs and didn’t know until they went to the doctor days later.
I gave Greg the choice of surf and turf or appetizers for dinner tonight and he chose appetizers with the caveat that we will have the other later in the weekend. So right now he is in the kitchen making the chicken liver pate for me and we will have that and cheese and crackers, shrimp, little hot dogs wrapped in pastry and mini quiches. We will just watch movies and snack and fall asleep in our chairs before midnight. lol
I am going to start a new Discussion for the new fresh month and the new fresh Year so i will see you all there in 2016.
Gail

[Barbara Smith]

#23094

Happy New Year’s Eve across the miles to all my Quacker ladies! Hope you all have a safe, wonderful evening, and that some of us can manage to stay up late enough to watch the ball drop. I usually fall asleep right before the big event, even though I have such trouble staying asleep most nights. Neal and Sarah just picked up a big order or hot wings at a local store and have gone to some friends that live close by. They had their first ultrasound done today, so we got our first glimpse of the wee one. It’s little heartbeat was just beating away. Neal recorded it on his I-Phone during the procedure. They have so much technology today. Neal said the baby is about the size of a grape now. Made me cry again. Tears of happiness. Can you tell I am excited? LOL I look forward to continuing to hear about all of your grands and their sweet little happenings that they do. They all sound so cute I know that you all just want to grab them up and give them big hugs. Everyone seems convinced that this will be a little girl, but to be honest, I feel it may be a boy. The baby is due around the first of August. Lisa is happy by outward appearances, but sad on the inside, and in private to Joey. She wanted to have a child first, but its like I tried to tell Joey, God has a plan, and we will understand it all one day. Since now has been for Neal and Sarah; just think of all the great time that she and Joey will have all to themselves when it is their turn for exciting news. Her shingles is better. I honestly believe that stress has brought it on. She is a real worrier. If I could only make her see that most of the things we worry about are not things all the worry in the world could change; so why not just look for the good in life and celebrate this instead of worrying about all we cannot change?
So glad you are safe, Colleen. I was really worried about you and your family. Gail, I am glad that Piper kept MOST of her clothes on that day. I still say she is bound for a fashion stylist career. She is such a free spirit and will probably be so artistic. I just see a little flower child in her. Is Aizen still helping you with his little tree? He and Jerry would be such good buddies with their love of trees. Jerry can talk for hours about trees. I used to worry about him talking to his trees; but not anymore. He has convinced me that they are alive, and respond when you talk to them so I just let him pat them and tell them how good they are doing, or that they will get better if they are not doing too well. Gives him something to do. ha ha
Jerry and I are just snacking tonight. Joey and Lisa are going to shoot off fireworks out back in the big open field. She loves to see the bright lights, but it scares poor little Ruby (the loud noise) so she stays up here with us. We are drinking the last of his eggnog; so I will probably be tipsy by 8 at the latest. It really does taste delicious. Wish I liked wine; but it makes me get really hot all over; flushed like. I live slushy fruity drinks that don’t really taste like you are drinking alcohol, but they can get me in trouble too. Jerry got me some kind of packets of drinks, like margarita, that you just put in the freezer and then take it out when you want to drink it and cut the top off and pour it into your glass. Yum, Yum.
I haven’t baked since Christmas. Have you Adele? I am not looking forward to all the bombardment that is coming on the Q and everywhere else about the first of the year weight loss programs. I look just like I look because I eat; and that’s all there is to it; and I get so tired of the guilt trips coming about how I should look better for my health when I don’t here them say that I should look better because it will make them richer because I am buying their products. I just saw them advertising on TV some kind of stair stepper that looked like a medieval type of torture device. Course, there is always some lady of it that weighs about 120 pounds not 220 pounds. Guess the reason is the poor thing would be like me; unable to even get up on it if I wanted to; which I don’t. ha ha
Jerry is seeing about his Mom everyday. Really wish we could talk her into an extended care facility close to where we live; so we could see her everyday and she would have lots of company; and be in a safe area. Jerry is taking her to her PCP on Tuesday; so they will talk more then. He went to the bank with her yesterday; and she is in the process of opening up a new account where Jerry can write for her; which she does need someone she can trust to do. The son who had his name on her checks lives in Mexico building a brewery. He makes so much money. It is just hard to believe that he has done so many underhanded things and so has the youngest one; to their Mom. I cannot imagine money driving people to this extreme. This has really hurt Jerry so badly.
Well, must go for now and get our little snacks put out. Jerry just asked me if I was ready for some eggnog; and I just must eat something before I drink some. ha ha I just want to say how much you all have meant to me through this year and all the other years. I thank Jeanne for bringing us all together. Take care all, and happy, healthy and wonderful New Year! Hugs to all——-Barbara

[adele shanbar]

#23120

Hi Gail and everyone!
Gary’s surgery just came up 2 days ago. He cannot stand the pain any longer, so he finally scheduled it. It is due to arthritis- he does not need the rotor cuff done, which will make the recovery easier, I think.
We had a simple take out meal, as you could not get Chinese- it was a 5 hour wait…..LOL
here, we call soda tonic- that is another Boston thing. the younger generation has been going more to the word soda, though.
We had a quiet night- watched a Hallmark movie, and then the NY celebrations. we got up late, as Gary is so tired from not sleeping well due to the shoulder, so I kept quiet in bed so he would sleep more. That was hard!!
We are getting some snow flurries later today. My goal for today is to dust the rest of the furniture, and get the tree down. Gary has been walking around, and gathering the decorations, and putting them on the dining room table, so I can work on putting them away next week.
I am chasing the fridge down the street now….LOL the food loss is covered by Best Buy, because I bought the contract with the fridge. I always get the contract, because you never know when you will get a lemon. My old fridge was always having an issue- the compressor broke in the first month. that one was a Kenmore Elite. I love this fridge, in spite of the fan breakage.
Hope everyone is having a good start to this New Year!
Adele

[adele shanbar]

#23122

Hi Barbara
I am so glad Jerry is able to help his mother out of all this mess. Money is the root of all evil, and the people who have a lot, seem greedy for more, at anyone’s expense. Very sad. So happy mom is doing better, and able to get around. Wonderful new for the New year.
Aizen has not been here lately, due to Jhonny’s working very long hours, and my prior little disagreement with Steph. I think they were going to come by today, but today we are getting some snow later- not too much from what I hear, so I am just not sure. This is Jhonny’s only day off, so I do no want to press. I bet even at his younger age, he is tired. Plus, he loves football, so that may take priority today. I talked to the little guy on his birthday, and we are all waiting for him to appear, so I can make a cake, and see him open his presents. His birthday being so close to Christmas is hard, as he gets so much in a short time, and then nothing the rest of the year!
You know, I have not baked a thing either , since the bake-a thon. I think they want me to make sourdough bread, as there were rumbling’s of getting the great corned beef from the local Jewish deli.
Can you imagine your new grand is the size of a grape? In just a month the Itty Bitty will be the size of a lemon. Pretty soon, we will get to the larger vegie section…..LOLI know we are all thrilled for your new baby- August is a nice month for a birthday.
Hope you are having a good start to your new year!
Adele

[Colleen]

#23156

Hi Adele and Barbara,
we have moved to another page. It starts May 2016 be prosperous and something else. We are over there now. So come on over.
Colleen

That goes for anyone else that wants to join in.

[Author]

Posts