Feeling thankful because...

... the pressure of Thanksgiving is over.  After a 5:30 wake-up yesterday, the turkey turned out.  The extra dishes delicious.  The pies were plenty.  With just under 40 people, we needed plenty.

... for very few leftovers.  I like turkey, but not for days on end.

... the blending of families and friends is flawless.  Part of it is due to the fact that there are some very nice personalities involved.  But a bigger part is that there is an inner working that makes these aforementioned family and friends more than nice.

... our home can handle the crowd and that people want to come.  I'm thankful the Chairman had wisdom to show me this house he peeked at six years ago.  The wide-open spaces can handle extra tables and bodies and make it a dwelling place for others.

... a simple thing like good weather so that it was easy for travel.

... parents that relocated to our state so they can share in days like yesterday.  We loved to travel out to the prairie, but this makes it all a bit easier.

... the Chairman and MYP pitch in and really make it easy to have others over.

 

... the Chairman and MYP left to go shopping and I'm alone for awhile today!  With a dirty house.  Actually, not too bad, but I'm glad to clean in the deafening quiet.

... the festivities aren't over!  We need to go out to celebrate dad's birthday and see some more family.  

... most of all I'm thankful I feel thankful.  I can't imagine going through life without feeling indebted and grateful to others.  It brings an inner peace that can't be explained.

See you on Monday!

Monday Musings

I just realized it is Monday and I haven't mused!  I should maybe wait until 11:53 some Monday night to post (if I could just stay awake that late).  Then I'd see how valuable I really am not.

Lets see.  Our very own high school football team won the championship game again this year.

 I consider myself partially responsible for their victory since I followed them to Madison to cheer them on.  Or not.  It certainly was fun.  And it was fun being with a group of our friends there as well.  And it was cold.  Very cold.  Did I mention it was chilly sitting there?  I did.  Yes, it was cold.  Brrrr.

Because of circumstances, I ended up spending nearly five hours in a mall on Saturday.  If you know me at all, you would know this clearly takes me out of my comfort zone.  I'm not a shopper.  No sirree.  Daughter #1 could have spent another 3 1/2 days in there without batting an eye.  I finally plopped down on a soft chair in the middle of the hallway with some other distressed men.

I did find some boots!  Isn't that exciting!  They were just the boots I was looking for.  Soft, supple leather.  A beautiful stitching that mimicked a quilt pattern.  The price?  $437.50 on sale!  What a bargain!  If you know me, you know I quietly put those precious boots down and wandered off...  And just so you know, other than a few smaller purchases for our daughters and a birthday purchase for my dad (Happy Birthday to my dad!), that was it!  That's ok.  My black and off-white vest are all I wear in the winter.  Let me rephrase that.  I do wear other things with the vests...  (heh heh)

Thanksgiving!  It's such a wonderful holiday.  It is based solely on thankfulness.  And friends and family.  And gluttony of the belly.  Wow.  What a wonderful holiday indeed.  This one will be celebrated at the Chairman and company.  We anticipate just a few under a hundred.  Or about 40.  It'll be a full house.  Cozy if you will.  I just need to know how early to get up to stick my hands deep in the nether regions of an ill-fated turkey.  

So Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!  Remember...

Happiness is...

... a warm puppy.  My aunt gave me that book years ago.

I have a real one now.

please forgive my thinning grayish hair

Happiness is...

special people that come to visit.  So thankful for them and their willingness.

Happiness is...

lots of good friends and an excuse to see them all because one good friend came back to visit from far away.  They all are incredibly good cooks as well!

Happiness is...

having a warm place to sit by on a cold November night.

Happiness is...

things that tickle my funny bone.

Ed note:  I actually like all our relatives.  But it still was funny.

this actually does happen but Lisi gets no sofa privileges or put in a crate.  And I sure hope I don't look like Opal.

Happiness is...

thinking something tragic happened and it didn't.  Long story short:  The Chairman had to work overnight at the office downtown in the big city.  The Chairman fell asleep in the wee hours of the morning on a couch.  I tried to contact the Chairman four times this morning and received no answer.  I took a shower thinking the worst.  I'll sure miss him.  I'll have to move.  Relocating the children will be hard.  How in the world will we manage without him!  I love him so much and would love to hear him snore once again.  My love.  Died tragically in the night by some terrible person.  Then the phone rang.  He was ok after all.  The mind is an amazing and crazy thing.  

It's nice to dwell on what happiness is on a dreary, cold November night.  

I hope you're happy too!

Monday Musings - POST # 1000!!!

Who'd a thunk?  Six years and five months later, I'm still chatting along on this even though it began with just an experiment to see if I knew how to post on Blogger.  Six years and five months... I took a peek back to see what has happened over the past years.

* I started out blogging using our names and had a different title.  I switched some years ago because it made me more comfortable on the web.  Plus I didn't want our family to get too famous.  (snicker)

* I have blogged for over half the life of our youngest.  Sometimes I wonder if that is a good or bad thing, but the good outweighs the bad in my mind.  As long as I keep the boundaries firm and only write what they allow.  If I continue for another six years and five months... well lets not go there or I'll need to get a tissue.

* We moved to a different side of town and I was able to journal the changes we made to our new home and the feeling we had in the transition.

* We lost our dog Lincoln and in our sadness found a puppy within a month.  Little did I know that she wanted to be a writer too.  A cat joined the party as well and he thinks he's boss.

* I have had the opportunity to write little tributes/memories of some we have lost over the years.  It was a balm to my wounds.  There have been weddings, births, sickness in those we love.

* We have stayed relatively healthy through the years.  However, I have experienced a rotten kidney stone and a torn rotator cuff.  We have also had a broken arm, a chin blown wide-open, and most recently a trip to the ER with a child that wouldn't move his limbs.

* When this blog started there was no thing called Facebook or Instagram.

* I have made some wonderful cyber-friends through blogging.  I hope some day to meet you.

* I actually wish I were a better blogger.  I look at the Pioneer Woman and her incredibly beautiful pictures, delicious food and witty writing with envy.  I think my head would get too big with the popularity.

* I didn't realize the Chairman would actually write on here.  Even though it makes me nervous, it makes my heart swell with love for him when I see he's posted.

Yes, we have gone through lots of changes.  But really life has stayed the same.  The Chairman and I are still a team.  The MYP are growing and maturing before our eyes, yet inside they are still them.  We have gone to the same place each Sunday for now-19 years.  We are blessed with good families on both sides and have a wide circle of friends that all offer unique and wonderful ways of sharing life and caring for us.

What is the future of the Chairman and company?  I honestly don't know.  Sometimes I think the weekly updates are almost too much for you or I.  Then Monday rolls around and I can't wait for our one-sided conversation again.

I guess my goal is this.  As long as I am blogging I hope I can bring you something to make you laugh.  Or to encourage you.  Or to make you feel more thankful.  Yes, there are moments of sadness, anger, and disappointments that I don't blog about, but that isn't edifying for you or for me.  Yes, life is challenging but the good always outweighs the bad.

'Fair are the prospects all ahead...' 

Here's to another 10 or 100 or 1000 posts.  

Just because it is post #999

This is post #999.  Because this blog has morphed into Monday Musings being the crux of the matter, I thought it was only fitting that post #1000 be on Monday.  Hence a need for a 'filler post'.  So here goes nothing!

Am I one of the weird ones?  I like the shorter days we are having.  The provide long evenings.  Together time.  Cozy feelings.  Sipping tea with one of the MYP....

We have a budding artist here.  He begged for paints and canvas for some time.  I waited thinking it might be a passing thought.  He asked again.  So we got some supplies and in two hours he created this for me.  I try not to brag about the MYP because yours are as wonderful as ours.  I just can't help it this time.  Sorry.

I've been a Mrs. Nosy Neighbor watching the workmen across the street framing the house.  Yesterday they had a nearly 2-hour lunch and then returned to sit in their truck for awhile.  Granted it was windy and cold.  But I want to see progress.  They are making up for it today as I see them feverishly working like busy bees.

I like to think I'm cheap frugal.  Our waffle maker had an early death because I may or may not have gotten water into the internal workings while cleaning it too enthusiastically the last time we used it.  I found a replacement at a brag price.  But the waffles were nothing to brag about with the exact same recipe.  The Chairman was being polite but was not at all impressed.  The utterly cheap waffle maker went back to the store and I re-purchased our reasonably priced unit online.  It came and I made waffles this morning and everyone is happy again.  At least about the waffles.

We used to have this magnet on the fridge:

It will prove true in the next couple of weeks.  I calculated that approximately 60-70 people will cross over our welcome mat in that time.  Isn't that wonderful?  Or should I re-state it this way:  "aren't potlucks wonderful?"  

If I hear one of the MYP ask one more time, 'why can't we start skiing yet?', I might stuff their ski gloves in their mouths.  It's hard to wait for something you really enjoy.  

Well back to the business at hand.  Have a great weekend!  Ours promises to be as well.

Where's the loyalty?

Have you ever met a guy like this?  He's all nice to you one day then starts talking behind your back and says stuff you don't like?  One of our best traits is loyalty and we expect it from others.

Hello!  This is your good friend Lisi again!  There was a guy that came back yesterday that had come a few years ago and dug holes all over our yard and didn't get in trouble for it.  In fact, the Big Guy and the Big Lady that yells but loves me anyway smiled and said nice things to him.  Even more, I think they even gave him snacks and treats once or twice.  He was putting in these things that shoot water all over the yard so it stays green.

When he worked here a couple years ago he was so nice to me.  He'd give me nibbles at the lunch break.  He would get down on his knees to really pet me.  He'd even hold my hand.

So yesterday he came with a machine that makes a lot of noise and sprays water all over.  He seemed very glad to see me again.  He even called me "Lisi" and not "Lacey" like a lot of people do.  Sheesh!  

He came in the house to turn off a pipe and stopped right in front of me on my bed.  Then he said the words of a traitor.  "Your dog is clearly spoiled."  The Big Lady that yells but loves me anyway said back to him (bless her heart), 'yeah, but this life is all she gets, so might as well make it nice'.  

I hope the next time Former Nice Guy comes, he just stays outside and minds his own business.  I'm guessing his Sealy Posturepedic isn't too shabby either....  If you're gonna be my friend, be my friend.  If you're going to imply I'm not worth pampering, well just go on home.  We dogs are all about loyalty.  

Monday Musings

Happy Veterans Day.  Besides the fact that I can't run to the bank or the mailbox, it is time to remember those that served our country.  My dad is one of those and he was shipped off to Korea as a young man.  Luckily, he was out of harms way and came home and built a life and a family and has lived happily ever after (especially after being blessed with his youngest child).  With urging, he will sometimes talk about the time he served.  But he was not traumatized and doesn't consider it a huge part of his life.  The bigger part and the part that makes his eyes light up and nearly dance is when he is talking about having fellowship with people he loves from here or the other side of the world.  He'd rather talk about that.

 

This past weekend was one of those that I might remember some day down the road when all the MYP are out of the house and it is dreadfully quiet.  Why?  Because it was just the five of us with two entire days of no plans and we baked apple pies and played games and sat by the fire and read together and talked about potential trips some day and wrestled and took walks and just was here doing next to nothing while the busy-ness of the world swirled around outside.  Here's a couple shots I took over the weekend...

We did go to the our high school's football playoff game on a frigid Friday.

Um... so much for my lecture on thinking of others... the argument given was that there was still some left.

My pie-maker.  I love teaching life skills...and really pie is a necessity of life, no?

It is pomegranate season again and since we all love them in this house, we go through a couple a week.  I saw a video clip on the best way to seed them and I think it is my favorite way.  Plus I can get out some pent-up aggression.  Simply cut off the top flower.  Then score the middle on the equator just enough to get through the skin.  Pull apart and start to spank it upside down on your hand with the back of a wooden spoon.  The seeds just fall out.  It is a great job for MYP if you have one.  

I think the term 'just chillin' would be appropriate here.  He's a very relaxed cat unless a mouse is within a mile.

It's snowing!  The MYP were hoping for 20-degree temperatures from now until April so the skiing season can start.  I hope they are wrong.  

This wasn't much, but all I have to offer this Monday.  Time to don the galoshes and hit the pavement for a walk.  And...  happy Monday to you!

Windy Wednesday Words

In a couple hours, it'll be Thursday, so I better write this tonight.

Let see.  I'll look at my pictures.

Popovers hot out of the oven with melted butter.  Need I say more?

 The Chairman and I left the MYP and went out on a date!  Gasp!  That's not the norm around here.  It was nice.  Just him and I.  We broke the cardinal rule and actually did talk about our MYP for awhile.  But we did talk about other things and it was fantastic not to have extra ears or interruptions of something that may or may not be relevant to the topic.  However, they are sure delightful to come home to.

19 years and counting.  

My morning reading companions.  No, we didn't purchase the area rug to match them.  

My lecture only went so far.  I had given firm instruction to not leave the roll empty and walk away.  Baby steps....

Do you want to know how you can be stressed lying on a massage table?  Just have a bowl of day-old chili right before you go.  Wow.  Oh never mind.  Nothing bad happened.

I do have a massage therapist I love.  She does just the right amount of super-firm pressure in all those 'knotty' places.  And she doesn't breathe.  Well actually, she does breathe, but I can't hear her.  And more importantly, I never-ever feel her breath on me.  That would about put me over the edge.  I think I was scarred as a child when some rotten sibling held me down and blew in my face.  That's the only rationale I can think of.  It stinks being the youngest.

Well this Wednesday will be over soon, so I best call it a post.  Hardly worth your time or mine either.  Oh well... just four more until 1000 and then we'll decide if that's enough for awhile.

Monday Musings

Well happy Monday to you!  Did we all like the time change?  For some reason, this 'falling back' almost makes me more tired since my eyelids pop open at 5 am instead of 6.  I vividly remember the time change when we had little ones.  Simply said:  brutal.  Those little people don't understand that they are supposed to sleep longer in the morning and not demand lunch at 10:59 am.

And what a fall it has been!  This has been the longest lasting fall season I can remember.  Vibrant leaves that refused to fall (pun intended).  However, I think those days are over.  I'm hoping for a very brisk wind today so our leaves blow over into the neighbor's yard.  I'd like to sit and sip tea and watch him rake. 

I killed a squirrel and I'm very sorry.  He was heading across the road in front of me on Saturday.  Paused and considered something on the road when I thought he had safely passed my tire.  A bump.  A look in my rear view mirror confirmed my fears.  Ick.

Yesterday I saw our newest little relative at the ripe old age of four days old.  Even though he was past 8 lbs. at birth, he looked so incredibly tiny and perfect.  You really forget how little newborns are.  

Tomorrow marks 19 years since we said 'I do' in Stillwater, Minnesota.  Don't we look vibrant and young and happy?  

Well now we aren't quite so vibrant and young, but speaking on behalf of the Chairman and myself, I would say we are still quite happy.  In fact, I'd do it all over again in a half-of-a-heartbeat.  We had no idea what the years might bring.  We've had good, bad, happy, sad, scary, exciting... and a lot in between.  But we have faced it all together and that's what makes life so wonderful.

A lot changes in 19 years.  There was no internet that people surfed.  There was no e-mail.  No cell phones (at least for us).  No digital cameras to take a bazillion photos with.  No Facebook status updates or Tweets or Instagram shots or blog entries (!).   Life was very different.  And sometimes I miss the 'good old days'.

And just in case you were interested, the Salvation Army bells are ringing already...

I'm wondering if women should join in on the 'no-shave November' thing.  Would save time in the shower.

I think I'm mused out.  I hope you have a marvelous Monday.