Holidays!

The Holidays have come and are almost gone now.

I took Friday off work (just in case that end of the world thing happened *grin) and we did a lot of last minute shopping, wrapping, and generally getting ready for Christmas.

Saturday I had planned to finish painting the living room and cleaning the house. The house cleaning got done as well as most of the laundry but I had a lot of other things that kept taking my attention and time so the painting did not get finished.

Sunday we spent with Bill’s son Justin and his wife and kids, Noah and Taylor. Just like all kids this age Noah was so excited and could hardly wait to open his presents.


Noah helping little sister open her present


Taylor with her new pony!


Noah checking out the erector set.




Bill made Noah a box to put his treasures in so little sister can't get to them.

Monday I made four pies – two pumpkin from our porch pumpkins and two chess pies. Again, I had plans that never materialized – I think I just needed to set a spell and recover before the big day!

Tom did get to come home for Christmas this year so I had all my kids home yesterday. Erik opened presents with us and ate breakfast then headed over to his girlfriend Meghan’s house for more presents and feast. Meanwhile back at our ranch – Bill prepared the turkey for frying, I started the sides baking and cooking and the kids watched new videos, played new games and basically sat on the couch all day doing not much of anything.

Erik and Meghan came back over to our house where more presents from and to Meghan were opened. And then everyone seemed to melt back into their own rooms to unwind. Since I had to work today I went to bed at the usual time instead of staying up like I have been for the past 5 evenings.

Tom will be home until January 3rd when he goes back to Texas. We will be having our annual New Year’s Eve party on the 31st. I’m not ready for Tom to leave, but I’m ready to get back to a normal routine. The Holidays are such a busy time of year. Since October we seem to have been going going going all the time.

Painting a Yule Party!

The subject for the weekend was mostly painting. Although Friday night we did attend the Bell Household Family Yule party which was a blast as always. I love that we bring gifts that are either handmade, something that needs a new home or as a last resort something pagany that is purchased. We all bring somthing and return home with something. This year I got a lovely plant - an African Violet. I'm going to have to look up just how to care for it becuase I know they can be particular. My grandmother always had them in her house so it is a lovely memory for me every time I glance over at it.

Saturday the painting began and it didn't finish until late Sunday night. So here's the pics:


These were the two colors I had picked out. I brought home samples to paint on the walls to see which one would look the best. I have to admit in the store I would have picked the one on the left but after putting them on the walls the one on the right won out hands down. I'm so glad I brought home samples!


Covering everything so we could start with the ceiling. The ceiling is a snow white - I have cathedral ceilings and I need for them to reflect the light down - so white it was. Bill was amazed at how many shades of white there are - "Isn't white just white?" Apparently not!


I love that Bill! He painted all of the ceiling! Aubri and I did the cutting in along the walls where we could reach but Bill really did the lions share of the work.


We found out that Aubri is afraid of heights! She never let her hand leave that wall the entire time she was up there. She didn't realize that she was scared either until she got up there. Her brothers squirrel around up there every year to put the mistletoe on the light or to change the batteries in the smoke detector but she had never been up there. But she was a trooper and did her painting while she was there... the getting down was the hard part!



I dont' remember what he was doing but we did manage to get a smile out of him now and then. LOL


So with the living room done, we moved on into the kitchen.



I painted this little wall between the living room and the kitchen with the rest of the sample... the more I saw of it the more I liked it.

Sunday we moved on to the walls. I was busy painting since I could actually reach the walls - so no pics of the progress but here are some of the outcome:




I just love how clean and fresh everything looks now. I still have a couple of walls to finish but they are short ones that I can do without Bill's help. I need for him to take the carpet off the stairs next weekend so I can do the stairway up and down and finish the project before New Years. Since we have a party every year I try to have something finished in the house that is new every year. This year it will be the painting. Hopefully next year we will have new floors in the living and kitchen and new countertop in the kitchen.

Catch-up stain on deep fried turkey

I got sidetracked last week once I realized that most of the pictures I had taken of the weekend didn’t turn out – somehow I forgot to post about anything else! So here’s the catch up from last week as well as this weekend’s activities.

Bill got the floor stained. The stain really brings out the wood grain. I love that it’s not perfect and that there are several species and several lengths of wood used. I think it looks pretty good for an 89 cent per square foot floor!


What will be the kitchen


closeup



We went over to our friend Cheri’s house to help with the garden and putting up a chicken house. Our friends Amanda and Rick were there as well. Rick and Bill did the chicken house and Amanda and I covered the raised beds with plastic. Then Amanda and I supervised from the kitchen window before taking her girls back into town for a birthday party. I felt a bit guilty that I didn’t do much more but Cheri said there really wasn’t much else to do – the guys needed to work on the chicken house and our ‘help’ probably would not have been appreciated! LOL

Sunday Bill and I went over the Cape Girardeau to do some Christmas shopping. They have a HUGE Menards over there and we must have walked around in there for hours with our mouths open in awe. I can’t wait for one of those to go in at Farmington – although I doubt it will be as big as the one in Cape! We priced plumbing that will be needed in the future as well as just walking around drooling at all the wonderful stuff that if we had we the money we would get.

I did manage to get a little present for me – some new black knee high boots! I haven’t had a pair of tall boots since I was a kid. I have fat calves and usually I can’t get them to fit. Between losing the weight and the boots having a little wider calf – they fit perfect! So now I have to get the Yule skirt made that I plan to wear to parties this year. I’ll wear it with the sequined top I bought last year and my new boots!

Last weekend was Thanksgiving. Tom was not home of course but all the rest of my kids were. Bill deep fried a turkey (probably the best one he’s done) and we had all the trimmings. Fortunately when I weighed in this week I had stayed the same and not gained! It’s a wonder! The homemade pies (from scratch – I even used a real pumpkin) were a hit with Bill. My pumpkin boy will be home for Christmas so I’ll definitely be making two then.

Speaking of Tom – I got the good news this past week that he will be home for Christmas after all! Woo HOO! Seems that one of the guys that were going to take leave decided not to so Tom got to take his place. I think he has learned a lesson – not that he procrastinated but as soon as possible – get that paperwork in for leave!

Tom and his buddies went boar hunting last weekend too. They speared a good sized boar so he will be bringing home pork with him on the 14th. He wasn’t’ sure what he would be getting so I won’t be able to plan for it till it gets here but I’m hoping for a nice roast or bacon would be great!


Tom is in the shade on the left

Other than we are having unseasonably warm weather – its 75 degrees today (December 2), we are having a pretty uneventful holiday season. Bill is collecting clue cards for the Jingle Bell Rock hunt on December 15th. I went by the jewelry store on Friday and saw what they are giving away this year – $10,000 worth of diamond jewelry! He’s going to try to get me clue cards this year as well so that I can hunt with him. Maybe between the two of us we will find the rock this year and win the prize!
Seems like there was more going on last week but I can’t think of what it was now. Sorry if this seems to ramble – I’m trying to put all the things that I wanted to write about last week and didn’t’ in.