Saturday, November 19, 2022

It is just after 6 and we have already been up for 1/2 hour, sitting in sweats as it is only about 65 in here. Coffee is being ingested (or is that injected as my iPad just changed it to LOL). We just have the cooler to pack up and put in the car (after our showers), then we are off. The half of the family who wasn't arriving until 4 pm were able to change their flight to a 11:45 am arrival so the day will be less complex.

I started a Christmas stocking for my second Grand-Nephew. I made the first Grand-Nephew one in 2020 the year he was born. This second one was born last year but I couldn't make it because of my bagel sliced finger. I started it yesterday afternoon and already have his name knitted in and the start of Rudolph's ears so I should be able to get it finished in time. I looked back at my notes and I have made this stocking 8 times over the last 50 years. The first one was for my eldest DD. One of the ones I made was for this little guy's Dad. I hope he still has it? Three of the ones I made are in this picture on my Cape Cod fireplace (the Rudolph ones - the one on the far right was the first one):

Second cup of coffee time! Have a super Saturday!

Those stockings are beyond beautiful. What a lovely tradition! Enjoy your family get away, lots of fun and chaos. Its great Mike is such a family man, I think this she much about the kind of heart he has.

When I woke up this morning, all the Christmas bins were already up from the basement! It's a bit early, but Christmas music is playing to help us get in the mood, I'm looking for my Christmas sweater, and we're off to buy egg nog. Then Operation Mistletoe begins in earnest.

It's sunny today, which equals bitter cold. Clouds are like a blanket in the winter, and help hold in some of the meager heat. Luckily we have a good furnace :)

Pretty much packed and waiting for one last load of laundry to dry. I am going to stay at my friend's house tonight and he will drive me the 20 minutes to the airport in the morning. Better than leaving at 3:30am! I'm going to help him hang Christmas lights in front of their house this afternoon, then we're going to dinner, then watching a movie in their home theater (ginormous house!). Apparently they had their house done up with every a/v googah known to man, so it'll be fun to watch that in action.

New animal to add to the Sedona list and one I'd never heard of. My neighbor posted a video of it on Nextdoor. It's called a coatimundi. Looks like a monkey and a raccoon had a baby with a very long monkey-like tail. Ah, I see it's in the raccoon family. Makes sense! https://www.arizonahighways.com/classroom/coatimundis

Anyway, hope you all have a good day. Happy knitting and decorating!

I have seen coatimundi's (in Riviera Maya Mexico I think)!

Greetings all

A sunny but cold day here. We spent the morning watching our football team lose yet again. They were ahead until the last 30 seconds or so but the other team scored. You could see it was super cold at that game and I did not envy those present - one of whom was my niece. She is a braver fan than I am having long ago given up attending in person. Oh wait, I am only 1800 miles away.

Liz sounds like you are cold too! Hope your trip goes well. I pity people in Buffalo and the area with 6 feet of snow. I remember driving through a 3 foot storm to Colorado to ski and once we got there we had the mountain to ourselves because no one else braved it. So much for being young.

I have a nice chuck roast simmering in the slow cooker and it smells divine. Potatoes and carrots will be added later. Protein for a few days plus dog delight.

Tempest in the gallery teapot continues. Queen#2 continues e-whining and others are pushing back. I am tempted to gang up but will resist. We are celebrating our 10 year anniversary and I am planning a communication about our founding (I was there) and reminding all of the cooperative spirit of our cooperative gallery. Actually only one person needs reminding. So there.

Not much else going on. I think I will stop in to the studio and fiddle with some clay and maybe get laundry done. Life in retirement is indeed slow. Thinking about the skiing I remember how much I enjoyed all aspects of it even though it was a hassle all the way to get there, carry equipment, spend a lot of money and generally beat up my body, all for a few slides down a hill. These days I would rather watch.

Did you actually see the coatimundi CC? What a cool creature. I thought they were only in south America. Who knew? I could live with those around but ix-nay on the tarantulas.

Have a great Saturday all. Peps are you at a dog show?

Diane S

I never down hill skied, but I used to cross country ski. When I first moved to my house, our suburb was relatively undeveloped, and we could strap on our skis and leave right from our front yard and ski over to a park reserve. It was back in my embrace winter phase of life, I also used to enjoy ice skating at outdoor rinks, on streams, on lakes... now I watch winter through the window, and venture out once in awhile. My biggest outdoor winter activity is shoveling the driveway if the snowblower isn't working. :)

Pot roast! Yummm! I love carrots and potatoes with it!