Favorite Holiday Pictures

I'm still here!  Have several blogs started, and as I was partially done, had to leave them.  So they're out there in "Edit" land waiting to be finished, and now will probably be deleted, as I'm going to show you some of my favorite pictures and leave it at that.  I just got to really look at all the 652 pictures I took, and can pick out a few!

"A Spotty Christmas Photo"

Renee with Jack and Spotty (Steph's Rat Terriers)

We took Jessica and Renee back to the airport Monday, and after getting home about 2 pm, I slept for 16 hours!  I wasn't feeling good, got the cold and ear ache back, and really needed some sleep!  Felt pretty good today, but still not back to normal.  Miss having the kids here, and now it is so quiet!  But I feel so blessed to have had everyone home this Christmas.  I'm sure there will be the day when we all can't get together.  We know with work schedules, that next Christmas will be a challange, and we may be celebrating our Christmas on the New Years weekend.  But that will be okey too.  Now with the two older grandkids out in the working world and their partners, we have more families to work around too.

Showing us some of her dance moves!

Renee passed out all the gifts, and then decided to wear some of them.

I made all the big girls scarves.  They were so nice and soft!

Leah got "Princess" sunglasses to wear when she's driving her

Mustang convertable next summer!  (we're now looking for

a pair of glasses like that for little Renee.  She wanted them

pretty bad!)

Jessica and Renee riding "Jack" later on Christmas day~

NO SNOW yet!

Our little princess got 3 princess outfits, and did she ever

love them.  Wore them over everything, every day since Christmas

I had to sew them several times before she left.  That

gift was sure a hit!  She loved to twirl and dance!

Dancing girl!

After Christmas Jess and I worked on a Tshirt quilt for her out of a few of

her Volleyball and Basketball teams that she's coached at Catholic

High.  Of course winning shirts from their state win last year.

I'm not done yet. So will show completed pictures later.  It was

great having help with the ironing on of the interfacing and then I cut out the

12.5 inch squares.  I have all the rows sewed together with black and

white polka dot strips, and now ready to sew the rows together.

Making a snow angel

Eating snow!!!   Heehee!  What kid doesn't like snow!

Renee and Amanda ~ Big hugs! or as they say "Tight-tight"

Throwing snowball at Mommy!

Working on old wooden puzzles that our girls had as kids.

Hope this isn't too many to post.  Will pick out some more for another time.  A new year started and I didn't make any resolutions.  Probably should have, but didn't want to break them!  Hope you all had a great Christmas too, and let's hope our New Year will be a great year. 

A busy Wednesday!

A great end of year give away at  Melissa's  Creating From the Heart blog.  Check it out.  I would love to win, as part of the giveaway is a great gift card for Michael's.  Who doesn't like to shop at Michaels and get all you need for the next craft you're going to work on!

The giveaway is Jan 1st!  So be sure to visit her blog!

A little warmer here today in northern Minnesota!  We need snow badly to cover our cold cold ground! 
I'd sure like a white Christmas again this year.  Our Louisiana kids will be home for Christmas, and daughter and hubby and dogs from southern Minnesota will be here too.  With Leah and her family and their kids home, we'll have great fun.  I'm now feeling better (but still can't hear out of my right ear!).  Hope no one else gets sick for the holidays.  Little Renee is just getting over a bug too.  She threw up last night, so Jess stayed home today with her.  Our neighbors have been sick too, and I visited with Connie tonight on the phone.  They've had a lot going on too.  So we got caught up on each others doings, and hope we're all on the mend and stay well the rest of winter.

I'm not ready with my gifts yet either.  Still sewing some and have more to do.  I've been making Chai Tea Mix for gifts.  Love that mix, it is so good.    Kind of expensive to make, but once you have the supplies, it is fun to make.  Leah and I have our last craft show on Saturday.  Then maybe I can get our tree up and get the house ready for company and Christmas!

Hope you're all well ~ take care, Jo

November almost gone!

At the gulf of the Mississippi!

I was excited to get a picture here, as in Minnesota, we live about 25 miles from the source of the Mississipi River.  It is within a Minnesota State Park visited by thousands every year. 

I think I've lost a month!  I've got loads of things to get done before Christmas, and the month of November is usally when I'm getting things all finished ~ in a normal year.  Not this year.  Since October I've been busy crocheting and doing some small crafting for a couple of little craft shows that Leah and I are a part of.  I should be done ~ but I'm not.
I was in Louisiana with Jessica from the 11th through the 15th to help take care of Renee during volleyball tournaments.  We were in New Orleans for a couple of days.  The team that Jessica coaches won the state tournament last year, and made it back again this year, but didn't get past their first game.  Jess had felt that they could do it again, but that particular day just didn't work for the girls.  You know so much pressure is put on kids, that we have to remember - they're still kids!  Even though they didn't move up in the state tournament, they still had a wonderful year!   Just to make it to be able to play at the state tournament is something great!  Great season girls! 

Jessica telling the server where to serve the ball.

Since our stay was cut short in New Orleans we went to the French Quarter one morning, planning on spending the whole day!  I was very impressed.  Nice and clean and so fresh.  People very friendly and not overly crowded.  So in my book, this would be a great time to visit there.  We went on a horse and buggy narrated tour of the French Quarter.  Very interesting.  Renee loved the ride, but then got a little tired of sitting still and played under the blanket covering our legs!

 Then we walked and toured the Cathedral-Basilica of St. Louis Kind of France.  It was founded in 1718, established as a parish in 1720 and designated a Basilica in 1964.  It is beautiful inside and out!!!!  Went into some shops and bought a few things, and then started to enter the area of the Open Market.  I wanted to spend some time there to see everything.

Standing outside the Cathedral looking up!

It's hard to believe how this could have been built in 1718! 

 Stopped to run and play and eat an ice cream bar in the church garden.

I now wish I would have bought this cute hat!  We had fun trying them on!

Renee was getting tired by then, so we stopped to get some food and each of us girls, Jess, friend Molly and me, were going to get a drink.  They were so pretty!!!!  Well, I don't drink, and instead of ordering a non-alcohol drink, I was going all the way and ordered a Strawberry Marguarita.  It tasted very good.  I had taken 3 sipps!   (really should have a picture of this, but don't)  And then my elbow bumped the drink and it fell off the table - right on me!!!!!!    I had been helping Renee with her chili, and guess it wasn't meant for me to finish my drink!  I had hot pink ice and drink all over my shirt, down the front, and in my lap and both legs!   It was cold and  so wet!!!  I was very mad at myself, because this was going to cause our day trip to be cut off SHORT!!!!!   We wiped stuff up the best we could, and started to walk back to our car, that was parked quite a ways off.  Back to the area close to the Mississippi river walker area.  I looked pretty silly - all wet and still PINK!  When we got to the car, thank goodness we had luggage and extra clothes, so I could change.  I didn't care who saw, I stood inside the open door way and changed out of wet clothes to something dry.  The girls thought this was pretty funny!
So our day was cut short at the French Quarter.  I do want to go back, and see more.
I have more pictures and will share them later.  Since I've been home I was busy that first week back with crafting, making a mess and then I got sick on Tuesday the 21st!  Spent the first 3 days in bed, not getting up to lay on the couch or anything.  So that's sick for me!   Totally missed Thanksgiving
and still sick.  Went to the doctor yesterday and I am now taking meds for my bad ear ache (very bad ear infection) and a cough that I sometimes just can't catch my breath or stop.  So strong cough liquid med for that.  It started out as a sinus infection.  Throughout the years I would get this a couple of times a year as I was growing up and usually yearly as an adult, except I haven't been this bad for several years.  I think the plane ride may have contributed a little.  My ears gave me fits when I was flying.  Seems kind of bad for an old lady to have an ear infection!!!!  hee hee!
Anyway, I now hope I'm on the mend.  Have a craft show on Saturday and need to get some stuff finished! 

After we got back to New Iberia, we dropped Molly off at her home, and Renee got to meet her pet chicken.  She sure liked her.

A really trained chicken to put up with a little girl holding it!

Well, now back to the recliner for awhile.  I takes awhile to do this, and this old lady still not up to par, so think I'll go rest a little.  I'll write more again this week.  Hope you all STAY healthy during the holidays and enjoy yourself.  I'm not going to worry about what doesn't get done either.  We'll all be together for Christmas so will need to get a little baking done, but if it doesn't happen, oh well.

Talk to you all later.  Jo

Sore back and apples!

Have been busy, and just haven't been in here writting.  My neck has been hurting and I have big knots in my shoulders!  Stephani had tried to work them out when I was down to see her, but they are stubborn, and think coming from a neck issue.  Yep - and now have had two appointments with the chiropractor.  Xrays of neck aren't good.  Instead of a curve to my neck, my vertebraes are straight and show that arthritis is present too.  I can't turn my head to the right at all, and little to the left, and the xrays also show that a couple of vertebraes are protruding out to the left side.  Ugh. So now we are going to take care of the problem, and not just the symptoms.   I was having trouble all the way down in my left leg.  Amazing how one thing can affect another area.  The adjustments have helped and I'm not in as much pain, but it will take awhile.  I can't remember the name/term that he told me and explained what I have.  Makes me mad that I didn't write it down, so now wait for next week when I go back to do that.  My pain level is a lot better, and that does help as I've been able to sleep pretty good that last couple of nights.
I've been busy sewing and crocheting and spose all that sitting and reaching forward hasn't helped.  But I have to be busy.
Saturday I even make some applesauce!  Had been given a bag of apples from a neice and they needed to be used.  The house smelled so good when I was doing that!!!!   Wish I could have bottled that smell up to use again later!

I wish I would have taken pictures of my whole process.  The apples were smaller, but a little larger than the crab apples.  The apples were kind of sour, so this turned out really good. 

Crockpot Applesauce

3# apples - you can mix the types of apples you use.  Peel and quarter.

1/2 c sugar

1 cinnamon stick (I used 3)

2 TBSP lemmon juice

2 TBSP unsalted butter (I didn't have, so used salted butter)  (seems to have worked okey)

Place apples, sugar, lemon juice and cinnamon stick in small crockpot.  Cover and cook on high until apples are very tender; about 3-4 hours.  Keep checking, and stirring, because some apples are done sooner than others.  (mine only took 2 hours).

Remove cinnamon stick.  Mash any lumps with a potato masher.  Pour into storage container or containers.  Add butter and stirr.  Let cool and store in refrigerator.

(I hadn't read my directions carefully, and added the butter to the crockpot after making sure all the lumps were mashed up.- think worked out better, as I put my applesauce in small jars.  I think it would even taste good on toast!!!)

I had seen this recipe somewhere, and then in looking up homemade applesauce on line, other recipes added more spices.  I just know I'll do this again.  Really easy!

A quick note!

Steph's biopsy came back okey - benign!  Whoopee!!!  So now the doctor will watch to see if the nodule or growth grows.  They took nine samples and she was pretty tired after the biopsy was done.  She was to have given a horse riding lesson to a young girl that she canceled out of - she thought she'd feel better than she did.   She has been on medication and that seems to be helping so she isn't so tired.  Thanks everyone for your thoughts and prayers!  

It's getting chilly here in Minnesota!!!!  I've had to dig out my lightweight winter jacket!  Can't complain tho - we've had a very warm fall.   More later.   

Nite out with Walter and the crew!

 Awhile ago, daughter Leah and Steve were over one everning, and they gave us a Christmas Letter saying:

Christmas is coming early this year.....

Do you need a hint:

How about ~

Jalapeno

Texas

Walter

Bubba

Peanut

Achmed

Any guesses?

Well - we figured it out right away!  I was so excited! 

  

 When the kids were over with the invite, we had to guess where we were going!  We figured it out, because with the puppets named above, you know right away that our early Christmas present was tickets to a Jeff Dunham show.  He came to Bemidji MN (about an hour away from us).  The kids and us went on Thursday evening.  It was a GREAT show and we laughed till our cheeks hurt.

We were in the perfect spot, the eleventh row, right in the middle!     Thank you Leah and Steve for a pizza supper and a great evening!!!!!!!!!

Leah and Steve - I had my flash turned off, and took a lot of pictures before the show.  You weren't suppose to take pictures during the show.  The following pic was up on the big screen before the actual show started.  I took over 90 pictures!

Oh, and Leah is such a funny planner and thinks of everything.  Dad and I each got a goody bag with

"Care Package" written on the outside!  Inside was some candy, a small package of kleenex, and an adult diaper!!!!!!!!   In case you laughed so hard that you pee your pants!!!!!!!     Funny Leah ~ she had such a great time planning our night out! 

Here's Jeff with "Peanut"  and in front of Peanut is a new puppet in the image of Jeff, and in his other hand, a little hand puppet in the image of a smaller Peanut.  That was Jeff's  last act for the evening.  I thought one picture wouldn't hurt!  Jeff is one talented ventriloquist!  His preshow was about him growing up and his love of his puppets.  That was very interesting.   He's been doing this since he was 8 years old!

Thank you Leah and Steve for a great evening!

 

Our Sept Renee Visit!

First picture after we got there, with Renee and the little pumpkin I grew.  Growing conditions were the greatest, and this is the ONLY pumpkin that grew!  But Renee didn't care!  She likes her pumpkin!

I'm so far behind on blogging that I don't even know where to start!?!?!  We had a wonderful trip south to see the kids and Renee and now have been home over a week and I haven't blogged yet ~ what's with me?  We've been so busy.  Steve is busy combining corn and working on  fall clean up, getting barns ready for winter, fixing ceilings and walls in one barn, and I've been busy too, but it doesn't seem like it has been such important stuff going on for me.  Cleaning house, washing floors; fall cleaning instead of what should have been done in the spring.  Only I know I've done some of this stuff more than once or twice this summer!  It's been so windy that it gets really dusty in the house ~ so it seems like I'm dusting all the time.  Have been out in the garden, putting decorations away, picking flower seed pods and still need to get the peonies ready for winter and dig the canna lilies.

From our trip I have some great pics of Renee that I'll share, and we came home a different way this time, drove East through Baton Rouge and up through Mississippi, to Memphis.  We stopped at Graceland on our way through Memphis, and spent 3 hours there.  A wonderful tour that we both enjoyed very much.  Elvis was such a musical icon to both of us and we still enjoy his music.  Stayed just north of St Louis that night and then got home the next evening.  Over 1400 miles in 2 days.

Renee helping Grandpa put together the antique 5 legged table that we brought with us for them.

They had a glass dinning table, and that now will be out.  It wasn't very kid proof.   This table has 3 12 inch leafs to make it larger for company, and will serve them good for many years to come.  The table is over 100 years old.

She is such great help!  Grandpa loved it!

We spent a lot of time watching volleyball, with Jessica coaching. 

We went to several Sugar Cane Festival events.  The livestock show to watch 4-H kids show their pigs.  Checked out all of the other animals there too.  Renee like the goats best.

We also went to the Friday night street dance and caught the tail end of the boat parade, saw the fireworks, and listened to great music for several hours that evening.  Jess and Floyd saw a lot of people they knew.  There were a LOT of people there.  Also went to the parade on Sunday afternoon, and then Sunday evening went to Mama and Papa's for supper and also cut out pumpkins early, so we could all be a part of having fun with pumpkins and Renee!  She sure liked the pumpkins!

Mommy and Renee did this one!

She sure loves the pumpkins!

I'm sure these are probably rotten by now, and they'll have to cut new ones when it gets closer to Halloween!

More trip pictures on next post. 

I need to get some crocheting done.  Have orders for hats and need to get them done.  Also working on getting some things done for a small craft show coming up.  Had not planned on doing any craft shows this fall, but this one came up and couldn't turn it down.  So now will be busier than I had planned on .  Oh well.  My plate seems to be getting bigger!!!!  Pile it on!!!!

I'm going to southern MN this week to send a couple of days with Stephani.  She is having a thyroid biopsy done on a growth on Wednesday.  Her thyroid counts have been all wacko, and hopefully they are getting things regulated so that she feels better.  She hasn't felt good for quite awhile.  But that hasn't kept her from the horse shows.  They are busy with them every weekend.  Talked to her yesterday and she did very well this weekend.    Hope you all have a great week and it's great to be back!   love ya, jo