New Year's Eve

Well, folks, the end of 2010 is here. My first thought is to say, "Thank God, it's over." This year has seen many battles and heartbreaks for my family, but lets not dismiss 2010 without picking out some good among the rubble.
This year, my brother-in-law recieved a kidney transplant that saved his life. God brought him back from the brink of death, and continues to strengthen him. My sister, Norma, was in excrutiating pain yesterday, later to wake from a nap, totally pain free (please keep praying for her, people. She really needs it). My sister, Glenda, after years of pain, was pronounced cancer free following her surgury. My sister Zita was accepted by the weatherization program for her house, and recieved new heaters and a new refrigerator. This should lower her sky-high bills. When the radio station was in the process of changing management, Dave watched all his co-workers lose thier jobs. He was so sure he was next, that we'd gone though the checkbook to see what extra costs we could do without. I thought I might be going back to work so we could afford to feed the cats. Not only did Dave not get fired, but he got a promotion. I finally got brave enough to start my blog, which has turned into a way for me to keep in touch with my sisters. I'm thankful for even small surprizes, like my brother spending Thanksgiving with us.
I'm not denying this has been a hard year, and I hope we never have to repeat it. I just wanted to look back on the good things, because it helps me to remember how God never leaves us to face our challanges alone. I love all of you, and I'm praying for a better year ahead full of health and happiness.

Progress For Annie

My cats, with the exception of Merlin, are uncomfortable with crowds. When we have guests at the house, even if they've seen the person before, they hide. On Thanksgiving, when my house filled up with family, Annie took advantage of the fact that most of her housemates were hidden. She took this opportunity to come out of her hiding place, and wonder the house. She was nervous, but she quickly warmed up to the fact that she was free to roam. She did the same thing again during our Christmas party. Well, she must have enjoyed herself, because she is coming out of her hole more often, and staying out for longer periods of time. She still spooks easily, and rushes back into hiding when things are too rambunctious, but I'm very proud of her. She never did like rough housing with the other cats, but I'm hoping she'll get to a point where she'll run and play with toys again. It's not perfect yet, but I thank God for every minute she spends with us.

Big Plans Tomorrow

Between Dave's busy work schedule and my sickness, I had pretty much accepted that I would miss the year end sale at The Woolie Ewe. I told Dave that my shopping spree at the Philosophy website was a good substitute. I enjoyed browsing thier website, and I have a package to look forward to (I love getting packages in the mail). I don't need anymore yarn or knitting supplies anyway, do I? Apparantly, Dave thinks I do. When he got home from work yesterday, he informed me that things had slowed down a bit at the station, enabling him to take a personal day. We'll drive to Plano early tomorrow. He'll drop me off at Woolie Ewe, while he goes on to Costco for our monthy stock up of cat food, litter, and other things. He'll then pick me up (I hope), and we'll go eat at our favorite Chinese food place, and hopefully be home by 3.
I hope I can sleep tonight. Normally, I can't when I'm excited about something.

Temperature Control Dilemma

It's a cold, rainy day in my part of the country. I was unable to get out and about, even to feed and visit with Max (I'm so sorry, Max). If I wasn't sick, I'd have probably gone anyway, but Dave didn't think it was a good idea. Trying to shift the guilt off myself, I asked Dave if he forbids me to go see Max. He hesitates. As far as he's concerned, I'm a grown-up, and he has no business forbidding me to do anything. He did managed to talk me out of it, using the reason that makes the most sense. I'm sick. (Poor, Max, I hope you don't think I've abandoned you).
So, I've spent the day indoors, watching TV and knitting. My knitting has gone very slow, because for some reason, my hands seem to be shakey, and unable to hold on to anything. During today's confinement, I've discovered my biggest enemy. The thermostat. When I turn the heat down, I get chills, but if I turn it up, all my sinus conjestion drains into my throat, causing caughing fits, and multiple sneezes. Grrr
Don't feel sorry for me too much, unless it's because I can't go see my Max. The sickness is so small in comparison to my guilt over him.

Philosophy

Ok, I have a new favorite. The gift I came away with from the family Christmas party, was a set of four cookie scented, 4oz bottles of three in one bath/shampoo products from Philosophy. I've been using the Oatmeal Raisin one for the past two weeks, and I absolutely LOVE it. I was afraid that being an all-in-one product would meant that it would be drying to the hair, but it's not. I do still use a separate conditioner, but only because I have color treated hair. Otherwise, philosophy + silk therapy would be sufficient. So here's a big, and I mean really big, thank you to whoever brought that gift. I'm pretty sure it was you, Glenda. ;)

Manly Mitts

When we walk, Dave's hands get very cold. His arms are too long to pull the sleeves of his jacket down over his hands the way I do. I had plenty of yarn left over from the hat's I'd made us, so I started knitting him a pair of matching mittens. I'd hoped to get them finished in time to give them as a Christmas gift (and if I wasn't sick, I would have), but they were not ready this morning. All I had left to finish was the top of mitt number two, and the thumbs, so I worked on them during the football game, and I'm happy to say that I finished them. So, technically, they were a Christmas gift after all. :)

Dave Is Sneaky (But Awesome)

Even though I'm sick, Dave and I have had the best Christmas. I gave him a pair of socks (hand knitted, of course), a gift card to Home Depot, and various kitchen items he'd been eyeing. He gave me a portable CD player (so I can listen to my music as I sit on my back porch), a magazine I've been eyeing, but haven't bought, and something that is so thoughtful, it left me speechless...

Back in October, when I won my ribbons at the fair, I had planned to create a page for the scrapbook Norma gave me back when Dave and I were Family of the month. Since I don't really know how to scrap, I had stuck my ribbons in a drawer, fully intending to persue my idea after I'd learned a few things, but actually I'd, sadly, forgotten about them. Last week, Dave asked me what I'd done with my ribbons, and I showed them to him. Again, I'd forgotten about them...until today. You know what that sneaky husband of mine did? He took them, along with my photos, to a frame shop to have a display made. I have to say, this was a complete surprise, and I love it so much. I hope it's not to prideful, but I've hung the framed ribbons right in the livingroom. I just have to have it where I can see it and be reminded of how much my husband loves me.

Where's Morty?

You know how sometimes can't find your cat? You've looked in all his favorite places to sleep and all his favorite hidey holes, but he seems to have disappeared. I sometimes wonder if there's some kind of magic vortex that only cats know about, because just when you've reached the end of your rope; when you just know something has happened to him, and your beginning to go into panac mode, here he comes, strolling up to you, with a look on his face that says, "what are you looking for?" That's the kind of thing Morty does, but most of the time if I want to find him, all I have to do is look up. (Click the photo to get the full effect)

Wrapping Noises

How fun is this? Dave went to the station this morning. Apparantly that is where he's been hiding my Christmas gifts. He brought them in, took them into the extra bedroom, and is now in the process of wrapping them. I can hear him right now as I type. Merlin was sitting just outside the door, peeking under, until Dave came out to look for scissors. He allowed Merlin to go in the room with him. He might be sorry...

Isaiah 9:6

"For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace."

Catching Up

Since I haven't written in a couple of days, I thought it might be a good idea to touch base with my friends. We had such a busy weekend. Friday night was the Christmas party for the radio station, Saturday was our family Christmas party, and Sunday night I went over to Highway to sing with my fellow church members. By comparison, this week has been pretty routine and uneventful. I've already bought Dave's Christmas gifts, and they're wrapped and under the tree, so even Christmas shopping isn't on the agenda. Dave and I have one more Christmas party to go to Thursday night, then we plan to relax Friday, and have a quiet Christmas together Saturday, just the two of us. We have some leftover turkey we brought home from Friday night's party, so I'm hoping I can talk him into making his amazingly delicious turkey and rice soup. Yum.
Please, keep us in our prayers. Some minor disturbances have occurred at the radio station. I want God to intervene, and help them settle them before they become problematic. The business is on the upward swing, and I hate to see it brought down by misunderstandings. Also, pray for me. I seem to be coming down with a cold or something. My throat was terribly sore last night and this morning. It's better now, but I still have the stuffiness. I also seem to be going thought a bit of a blue spell. I'm hoping it's because of my sickness, and will go away when I'm well.

These Hats Were Made For Walkin'

Neither one of us is what I would consider lazy, but Dave and I had gotten into the bad habit of plopping down in front of the TV at the end of the day, and not moving until bedtime (well, Dave's bedtime, anyway...). Of course, I had my knitting, and he gathered his news stories for the radio, so it's not like we were just wasting time, but both of us felt we needed to do something to break the cycle of inactivity. At the beginning of Spring, Dave mapped out a little mile and a half trail (of sorts) through our neighborhood, and we begun walking. Since Dave has to get up so early, we decided the best time to go is in the evenings around 6pm. This gives him a chance to unwind from work, but it's still too early to start his news gathering. Spring is such a beautiful time of year, and I enjoyed, so much, looking at peoples' gardens, and watching them grow. Summer came, and we managed to keep these walks up until the very hottest days of August, but after one summer walk, I was actually dizzy by the time we got home. We discontinued the walks until the latter part of September, when the temps started to cool back down, and this is where the hats come in...

We had an early cool snap last month, but decided to walk our walk anyway. By the time we got home, our ears were numb. that's when I decided to knit us both hats to wear during our winter walks. I finished Daves and knitted half of mine, while I was sitting at the hospital with my sister and her husband. When I had completed both hats, I tried several times to get a photo of Dave and I wearing out new matching hats, but none of the shots were good. I found out that when you hold the camera in front of yourself, the result is not good at all, so in each picture, whoever was holding the camera looked terrible. During yesterday's party, I saw the perfect opportunity to get my desired picture. There were plenty of people willing to take it for me, but Dave, after all our failed attempts, and not liking the way he looks in hats anyway, refused to put his on. The best I could get from him, is a picture of me wearing mine, while he sat by me and held his up. What a spoiler you were, Dave.... :)

Party Day!

What a great day we've had. It really was an easy preparation for the party. We planned to serve soups, Dave's being Chicken noodle, and mine veggie beef (potato soup was provided by my sister, Norma). Since Dave had already made his stock Thursday, all he had to do was chop some veggies and throw it together, while I peeled and chopped my potatoes and started my soup. Dave had made red velvet sandwich cookies, and I had made cake mix cookies Friday night. I got up to discoved that Dave and already made frosting, and iced not only his, but my cookies as well. This left me free to tidy up the house, and fix my snack trays.
The party went well. I got to see all three my sisters' families, three of my nieces, and my two great nephews. The food was good, and we had so much fun playing our game of swap and steal, before several games of Bingo for small prizes. Glenda and I like to pick up little items thoughout the year for the Bingo gifts, but this year we seem to have gotten out of hand. Both of us didn't realized, until we got them out to wrap them, just how many gifts we had bought. We ended up wearing out our caller. Glenda, maybe next year, we should keep it to fifteen prizes each. lol

Our Family Christmas Fun

When I was a child, all my brothers and sisters used to gather at Mom's house for Christmas. We'd eat, visit, and share gifts. It was a fun time. Later, this tradition was moved to my Sister, Glenda's house. By then, our family had grown to include spouses, children, and step children, so we began a new tradition to save money. Mom sewed huge quilted stockings for each of us, which we filled with $5 stocking stuffer gifts. We drew names for the one big gift we were to buy. After Mom and Dad moved from Irving to Paris, we were able to continue this tradition a couple of times before Mom and Dad became unable to travel. My sisters' families and I still continued to meet in Irving. By this time we had omitted the stocking gifts, but dinner and a nice visit were still alive and well, then back to Paris to drop me off home and see Mom and Dad (I was living with my parents at the time).
In 2002, when I married, Dave and I spent our first Christmas continuing the tradition of meeting at Glenda's in Irving. We drove down on Christmas Eve, and spent the night at the hotel in Reunion Tower. We ate at the restaurant in the famous rotating ball, then went back to our room to open our gifts to eachother and watch "It's A Wonderful Life." Believe it or not, that was the first time I'd seen the movie all the way through. We got up the next morning, Checked out, then drove to Glenda's for our Christmas visit. We had some fun times.
In 2004 something happened to change us forever. We lost our dear mother. The entire year passed in a hazy blur, and before we knew it, then Holiday season had sneaked up on us. Not wanting to go anywhere, but still wanting to see my family, I planned a Christmas party. We had been dealt a terrible blow, and my goal was a Christmas free of stress and anxiety. We would have it the Saturday before Christmas, leaving Christmas day free for each family to fulfill thier own Christmas plans without the added stress of working my party into the days' already busy schedule. We'd meet and my home, have a dinner, and play a gift exchange game. In keeping with the theme of stress-free, we made sure everyone knew they were invited, but only the ones who wanted to play the game were to bring a gift. Nobody was to feel obligated in any way. Not only was the party a success, but it has become a new tradition, and grown into more games and fun.
So this Saturday, I look forward to entertaining my brothers (if they come), sisters, nieces, nephews, and anybody else who wants to share the fun. We're planning to have soups and cornbread for our meal, and of course deserts and snacks will be readily available. We'll play bingo for small game prizes that Glenda and I have picked up throughout the year, and of course, our main gift exchange game, where we get a chance to swap and steal (but in fun). I don't know how long we'll continue this latest of Christmas traditions, but I know I plan to enjoy it for as many years as it lasts.

Busy, Busy

I've had such a good day. I went over to the apartment building to see Max, then over to the post office to mail my Christmas cards. While in the area, I went over to Big Lots to pick up a couple of presents I'd been eying since the season started. I then had to stop by Sonic for a happy hour diet coke on my way home. I fed my critters, tidied up the kitchen, then sat down to wrap gifts. I wrapped Kloe's plus all our gift prizes for Saturday's party. How fun! I'm also excited about the new tree skirt my aunt gave me this year, which looks great under my tree. Maybel and Merlin seem to like it, too.

Lots Of Cereal

After Church today, Dave and I went grocery shopping at Kroger for all the items we're going to need for our family Christmas party Saturday. I think Kroger has some of the best prices in town for most of the stuff we need. Dave is planning to make a Chex Mix, and wouldn't ya know it...Chex cereals are on sale! In fact, a lot of different cereals are on sale, and Dave, being a big cereal eater, took the opportunity to stock up. In fact, he bought so much cereal that we jokingly campared him to Seinfeld.

Our New Tree

As much as I hated to part with the old one, I Knew it was time for a new tree. After a tearful farewell, Dave and I got in the truck and drove to Walmart, hoping to find another great deal. Sadly, there are no deals to be had until after Christmas, but even more sad, is the poor quality of this year's trees. All we saw were very sparse, plastic-y looking trees. I'm not a snob, but I do want a tree that I don't have to constantly fuss over to fill in holes. Needless to say, we didn't purchase one there. The trees at Hobby Lobby and Big Lots all had clear lights, and as I said in my last post, Dave and I are multi fans. Just as I was deciding to use our tree (minus the big bulbs) one more time, then see what we could find next year, we made one last stop at Sears. That's when I saw it. A beautiful, prelit tree, with large pine cone-shaped LED lights, which can be set to blink in a wide range of patterns and speeds. We purchased this beauty, and took it home to discover just how amazing it is. I've never, in all my 42 years, seen a tree this full. Each branch forks at the end, and fluffs out leaving no holes. You can place any sized ornament anywhere, and it looks great! I didn't even need any plain Christmas balls. I'm sure they would look great, but the large lights make them unnecessary. This left me free to use only my pretty stuff. I look forward to many years, and many memories with this tree...Provided the cats will allow it...(as I go to shoo Morty away from the tree)

Goodbye Old Tree :(

Well, today I had to say goodbye to mine and Dave's first Christmas tree. We were married in October of 2002, and since he didn't have a tree, we used my old four foot tree for our first Christmas together. We moved the coffee table in front of the fireplace, and set the tree up on that. It was at the end of it's rope, but with lots of branch bending, and careful placement of ornaments, we managed to fill in all the holes. What great memories...
After Christmas, we decided to take advantage of the sales, and buy our very own Christmas tree. I wanted multi-colored lights. Don't misunderstand me. I think clear lights are very pretty, and clean looking, but, too me, they lack the warmth I associate with childhood Christmases. Dave didn't have a preference at the time, but over the years, he's become a multi fan. We found this beautiful, 7.5 foot, prelit tree at, of all places, Walmart. We fell in love with it, because of the big bulbs strategically paced among the mini lights. This made the tree stand out from the rest...and even more amazing...it was 75% off!
So this has been our tree for the eight years we've been married. Last year, I could tell it was beginning to fail, because several strings of lights had gone out, leaving dark areas, but we were going to use this tree one last time. We had to discard the bottom portion because of a large Max-shaped dent, where he had climbed up a few branches and settled for a nap (Man, I still miss him so much). Being a 17 pound cat, he bent them beyond repair. So we set the coffee table in front of the fireplace, like we did that first Christmas, and assembled the top two portions of our tree. We took a string of lights to fill in the dark areas that had burned out. It wasn't perfect, but it was useable for one more year. Then something dreadful happened. We started screwing in the big bulbs only to discover that a whole string of them had burned out. Nothing we did could save the tree, because these particular strings cannot be found anymore. I had to cry a little, because I really loved this tree, but I'll never have to say good by to all the memories. I've included last year's picture of this tree in this post. Goodbye Old friend...

Oops! Now I Have To..

Last night the ladies of our church gathered for a little Christmas party. We had food, games, and prayer for us all. Our gift exchange was the game were you can either pick a gift or take away someone else's gift. My gift of a garden rock was taken away by my great aunt Bettie, so I had to pick another gift. I really had my eye on my aunt Gina's lovely tree ornament, a metal beauty, shaped like a bottlecap, with a picture of Santa painted on it. I started not to take it, because I've been so down I haven't even put up my tree, but I just couldn't resist the lure of a Santa ornament. So now I have to put up my tree so I can display my new treasure, and not feel bad for stealing it from my aunt. What a fun night we had.

Max, The Multi-Owner Cat

As most of you already know, we've located Max. He had been hanging around the back of the apartments since the week before Thanksgiving. As far as we knew, he was living the life of a homeless cat, because we thought he didn't know how to get around to the front door, or which apartment was his. We tried to call Sis JoAnne, but couldn't get though (we found out later that she'd been very sick, and wasn't getting out of bed or answering her phone). Max was scared of Dave and Me, so we were taking food for over to him everyday, and sitting with him while he ate it. I left a message on Sis JoAnne's machine that we were going to keep after him until we caught him. During this time, I got my hopes up so much, thinking he was going to come home with us. We had planned to feed him and talk to him everyday until he warmed up to us, then we'd capture him, and bring him home. I was thinking that maybe God just temporarily removed him from my home until things calmed down, and now He was giving him back to me. I didn't realize how much I was counting on this until I got a phone call that knocked the wind out of me...

Sis JoAnne called my cell phone the day before I was planning to go get him. She apologized for not getting back to me sooner, then told me what had been going on with Max. She had seen him out there, and coaxed him around to the front door, using Peace (her Siamese cat) as a lure. Ever since then, he knows that all he has to do to get inside is to pop the screen, and she lets him in. After his adventure, he'll never be happy as an indoor only cat, so when he wants outside, she lets him (which is what we were going to do if we got him back). She went on to tell me that not only has he found his way home, but he seems to have charmed his way into a second home. Apparantly there's a little boy living in the apartment complex who had wanted a cat so much he prayed that God would send him one. When he opened his door to see Max sitting there, he became convinced Max was the cat God had sent him. Not only that, but he seems to have charmed his way into several hearts, and stops by several homes to eat, and recieve pettings and attention.

Then there's me, the still grieving previous owner, who just can't seem to let him go. Even though I know he's not homeless, I still can't seem to stop going over to the apartments with a can of food, and some pettings. I didn't realize how high I had gotten my hopes up. I just knew God was giving him back to me, and finding out that's not the case has plummeted me to an all time low. I know it makes no sense, but I just want him back so bad. Everything I do reminds me of him, and how much he should be here. Everything I share with my cats, he should share, too. I still cry when I take out five feeding bowls instead of six. It's like my family is incomplete.

Please, forgive me if I don't post to my blog for long periods of time. I'm in so much pain, and I don't have the energy to put on a happy tone and write. I haven't put up my tree, wrapped any gifts, or sent cards. I just can't find any joy in any of the things I used to love. Please don't judge me too harshly. Believe me I've already punished myself more than anybody else ever could.

Forgive Me

I know it's been a few days since I've written, and I really want to write, but I'm very emotional, confused, and can't seem to express myself. I even know what I want to write about, and can't seem to make myself do it. Maybe I just need a little more time...