I was in the process of taking knitting pictures... and my batteries went dead.. so while they are charging. An update. Not much going on here. No snow (we're suppose to get flurries today), haven't seen one.

Went to visit my Grandfather yesterday. Spent a few hours with him. He's doing as well as can be expected. I can say he eat his lunch! I feed it to him. My Mom called this morning, he's back in the hospital. The are going to test him for kidney failure. It's hard to watch. But it's part of life.

I made breakfast this morning. We've been getting tired of the "same" stuff. So I had seen a recipe and decided to try it.. You spray a muffin tin, 1/2 fill with hash browns, then bake (at 400) for 10 minutes. (if you're so inclined add salt/pepper here) then add diced onion, red or green peppers, shredded cheese, I used pre-cooked bacon for hubbys and put zuchinni in mine... then add egg/milk mixture (go easy on milk).. then put them back in the over for 20minutes. Yummy. Hubby really like them too.

I'm going to knit, still waiting on those batteries!

Merry Christmas!
We begin our exchanges tonight with my side of the family. My favorite part is watching the kids.! Tomorrow morning (very early) we go to hubby's sisters to watch the twins open their Christmas and exchange gifts. This has been our routine for several years.
I just want to say that I'm thankful this morning for family. And I pray for my grandfather whose health is failing. He had a triple bypass in 1985. He's had a couple of heart attachs since and made the decision 2 years ago not to do anymore procedures. He is 88. We are grateful for the time we have had with him. Hubby and I went to see him on Saturday. He was doing fairly well. Smiled for us, knew who we were! Hey, I say that good for an 88 year old that has 4 children, 11 grandchildren, 18 great-grandchildren, and 3 great-great-granchildren!
Merry Christmas to all.....

Crazy weather.
When I went to bed last night.. it was 57F and raining. The wind picked up over night 30+mph and the temps dropped to 27F. Our power went out about 3:40am. I called it in, because we're on the end of a line and sometimes it takes them a bit to get to us. Went back to bed. Woke up about 7am, no electricity yet. Very cool inside and out. At 8:11, our electricity is back on... temperature inside? 62F.. just about what it was out last night (and it seemed much warmer when it was outside!) Outside, the wind is still blowing and we have snow flurries.
I am not making a list today. I just know that I have things to do and must get moving!..after the house warms up some!

It's finally Saturday. This seemed to be a very long week. I did manage to get some stuff done, but I am up doing housework and then I'm going to knit until we go to my parents house. My parents are taking us out to eat for hubby's birthday... which was last weekend, but we got ice last weekend so our outing was postponed.
I did manage to finish hubbys socks last weekend. I'm going to wash and block them today. Then I going to knit on my sweater. In amoungst doing laundry and stuff.

I have a short list and I seem to do better if I write it down.

• put away clean dishes - done


• load dishwasher & run - done


• start laundry (that's next)


• straighten living room, doesn't look that bad from where I'm sitting, but I'll still do it!


• fold towels and put them up


• sweep living room (have hubby, he likes to)


• "dust" kitchen floor


• bathrooms (they always seem to be on my list!)

I'm going to get busy now... And I'm thinking of taking a walk in the woods, it's 49.6F outside and it's December 22nd.

And today is John's birthday. We'll call today to check on the family. And this will be our third Christmas without my FIL. It just doesn't seem possible.

John Holle 12-22-1935 12-8-2007
We lost a dear friend last week. He was friend, husband, father, grandfather. He will be missed greatly by all. He was my late FIL best friend since they were 14 years old. Closer to my FIL than his own siblings.
My fondest memory. John and Wanda were playing euchre with my in-laws. Guys vs Gals.
They guy kept the girls talking and was passing the deal between them (both men!) and the girls were still winning! After I caught on to what they were doing, my FIL kept giving me the "shush" sign and John would wink at me and grin really big. Did I give the guys up? Heck no! If the ladies weren't paying any more attention than that and winning, imagine if they really paid attention!

As you read this, my question to you. Do you recognize miracles when they happen?

Psalm 55:22 ---"Friends are God's way of taking care of us." This was written by a Metro Denver Hospice Physician:

I was driving home from a meeting this evening about 5, stuck in traffic on Colorado Blvd., and the car started to choke and splutter and die - I barely managed to coast, cursing, into a gas station, glad only that I would not be blocking traffic and would have a somewhat warm spot to wait for the tow truck. It wouldn't eve n turn over. Before I could make the call, I saw a woman walking out of the "quickie mart " building, and it looked like she slipped on some ice and fell into a Gas pump, so I got out to see if she was okay

When I got there, it looked more like she had been overcome by sobs than that she had fallen; she was a young woman who looked really haggard with dark circles under her eyes. She dropped something as I helped her up, and I picked it up to give it to her. It was a nickel. At that moment, everything came into focus for me: the crying woman, the ancient Suburban crammed full of stuff with 3 kids in the back (1 in a car seat), and the gas pump reading $4.95. I asked her if she was okay and if she needed help, and she just kept saying " don't want my kids to see me crying," so we stood on the other side of the pump from her car. She said she was driving to California and that things were very hard for her right now. So I asked, "And you were praying?" That made her back a away from me a little, but I assured her I was not a crazy person and said, "He heard you, and He sent me."

I took out my card and swiped it through the card reader on the pump so she could fill up her car completely, and while it was fuelling, walked to the next door McDonald's and bought 2 big bags of food, some gift certificates for more, and a big cup of coffee. She gave the food to the kids in the car, who attacked it like wolves, and we stood by the pump eating fries and talking a little. She told me her name, and that she lived in Kansas City Her boyfriend left 2 months ago and she had not been able to make ends meet.

She knew she wouldn't have money to pay rent Jan 1, and finally in desperation had finally called her parents, with whom she had not spoken in about 5 years. They lived in California and said she could come live with them and try to get on her feet there. So she packed up everything she owned in the car. She told the kids they were going to California for Christmas, but not that they were going to live there.

I gave her my gloves, a little hug and said a quick prayer with her for safety on the road. As I was walking over to my car, she said, "So, are you like an angel or something?" This definitely made me cry. I said, "Sweetie, at this time of year angels are really busy, so sometimes God uses regular people." It was so incredible to be a part of someone else's miracle.

And of course, you guessed it, when I got in my car it started right away and got me home with no problem. I'll put it in the shop tomorrow to check, but I suspect the mechanic won't find anything wrong. Sometimes the angels fly close enough to you that you can hear the flutter of their wings...

Psalms 55:22 "Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and He shall sustain thee. He shall never suffer the righteous to be moved."

Another Update...
MIL is on her way. As usual, the weathermen were wrong. It's hovering around 32F (freezing), but we didn't get the expected ice.
After talking to John's daughter and son last night, hubby and I will wait to go until next weekend. Otherwise there gets to many people waiting at the hospital. We will keep in touch by phone this weekend for updates.

Saturday
Today's list will not be like last weeks. Mostly because I way over did it. I hurt until Friday! So since I'm just beginning to feel better again... I'm going to take it easy.
I finished hubby's first sock last night. Just need to kitchner the toes! Look like I'm going to need more yarn so a trip to LYS is going to be necessary today. Meanwhile I've still got the baby sweater (it's not for Christmas so I can work on it as I like) and my sweater to knit on! But I really want to get his socks finished!

so this is today's list

• Have hubby sweep living room and bedroom
• take pictures of my knitting
• clean out refrigerator (yes, it still needs done!)
• bake spritzer cookies
• make christmas mints
• make poorman turtles
• make sugared pecans
• work on laundry as time permits
• knit on breaks or as time permits

that it, I'm taking it easy today.

Update
John made it thru the night. They have put him on breathing machine and drug coma. Tomorrow they will try to get him off the ventilator and see how much damage the stroke did. He is responsive and stable. I talked to his daughter tonight.
Since we're due ice tonight, MIL is waiting till tomorrow to go over. It's over a three hour drive. She is riding over with John's sister.
Prayers are appreciated.

Family Friend
We got a call today. Our family friend, John, he has had a massive stroke. Due to weather it took hours to get him to the hospital.
My prayer tonight is that he makes it thru the night. He was my father-in-laws' best friend. He was really there for us while we went thru the cancer. John and David had been friends since they were 14. John is 72.

I am up having my first cup of coffee, vanilla nut, humm. Went over my list. Saturday was not a bad day. I have a few things to finish up today, but it won't take all day and I can knit. I'll also take updated knitting pictures for later today. I need some light to take the pictures, but we've got rain today. Chance of snow later this week. I hope we see some! I love the snow.

• DONE: dust living room
• DONE: sweep living room… and moved furniture
• DONE: washed living room curtains
• DONE: put up Christmas tress, some of the decorations, need to finish
• DONE: (not on list, swept kitchen/dining room, cleared off kitchen table)
• DONE: mounds of laundry (double yeah!)
• Still need to do exchange in closet, winter clothes are down (1/2 done)
• DONE: put away clean dishes
• DONE: reloaded dishwasher.. and ran it!
• Still need to clean our frig, will do today
• One bathroom was cleaned, the 2nd isn’t used that much, but will give it a quick once over today.
• DONE: not only straightened our bedroom, but moved it around and dusted, whew, did it need it.
• I’m going to do the Christmas cookies today, I was too tired yesterday to think about it!
• Went to town, did exchange for 40% off an item, bought a few new decorations, 2 snowflake mugs, a Christmas gift and the much need MILK.
  

I've been a slacker with my blog. Mostly because (insert good excuse here). But today is December 1st. I have a list of things I'd like to complete today. I'm going to share it with you so you'll be sympathetic with my lack of blogging.

• dust living room
• sweep living room, while doing this move the furniture so that I can later set up Christmas tree
• wash living room curtains (really, they need replaced {10+old};let that go, Rome wasn't build in a day)
• put up Christmas tree and decorations
• fold and put away mounds of laundry left over from when hubby was "taking care" of the laundry. When I do laundry.. I fold and put away the load as it comes out of the dryer.
• need to get down some winter clothes (ick, I hate doing this exchange, but our closet isn't big enough to hold all of them at once)
• put away clean dishes
• clean out refrigerator
• re-load dish washer as needed
• clean two bathrooms
• straighten our bedroom
• sweep our bedroom
• make Christmas cookies
• visit neighbor that is in the hospital
• put up outside snowflakes and tree (ugh I think hubby can do that)
• need to go to grocery, no milk in the house! I'm the milk baby.

I am beginning to get some energy back, but it seems that I still get tired. But do you think that list is crazy or doable?

And I have Christmas knitting that I'd rather be working on.. but I'm hoping to get most of this stuff done today, so that I can knit all day tomorrow.

Next weekend I'd like to have the twin nieces over for cut out Christmas cookies! So I must get some STUFF done!

READY... SET... GO!!!