Well HOWDY there Janice..

Nice surprise to see you on a Sunday…

AFA the weather here….Winter mixy mess….That is suppost to turn over the rain…I admit I was surprised when I looked out the window at 9am and saw it sleeting when they local early reports (6am) said it would all hold off until about 2pm….There was some stuff on the radar but they said it was that…mmmm…what is that word….

(thinking thinking…)…You know when it shows up on radar but it doesnt reach the ground because its hitting drier air?…Anyway it obviously is hitting the ground….

You have a great day and enjoy your day off tomorrow

Janice,

I wouldn’t worry about the comments…it’s generally just a case of people not knowing what to say…and then blurting out something without thinking. My wife gained 53 pounds during her pregnancy( and she started out at 108) but she never looked more beautiful to me.

My wife and I are some of the really fortunate ones that can eat all we want and not gain any weight. I’m 61 years old now and still 6′3″ 200 lbs…wide receiver size…without the speed. :>) I really don’t think much about a person’s weight unless thay are morbidly obese and then I worry about their health, but a few pounds more than Kate Moss isn’t much to worry about.

That pregnancy weight will go away a lot faster than you think especially when you think about the loss of sleep and all the extras a child involves…it’s worth it though.

Tom

Thanksgiving was great still full rom that will probably take till Christmas to walk the pounds off. No Christmas Tree up yet might be tomorrow or soon. BLAH!!! Its snowing in Chicago as of 11:40 c.s.t. I hope its not sticking around. So funny as a kid couldnt wait to build a snow man like Pig Pen see Its The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown as a reference. Now I look forward to this ending so I can get ready to face another week. Keep thinking 24 days till a 5 day weekend AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!

from not rom darn my big fingers lol

Hey Janice,
It’s an ugly day here at my parents’ place and I have to drive back to Cumberland today, which I’m not looking forward to. It looks like if I wait a little, the rain might let up. It’s cold and rainy and foggy and just plain ugly–perfect travel weather–NOT!

You just answered a question my parents and I had we were over at my aunts house for brunch and we were wondering about the space shuttle. When they get home I’ll tell them the landing was postponed.

I got a cold or allergies or something and I’m feeling really lousy so I’m going to take a nap before I head back to Cumberland. For two nights in a row now I haven’t slept well so I’m really tired. My head’s all congested so I’m feeling lovely! I did a little online shopping but I haven’t had any energy to go out anywhere this weekend. I hate going out shopping right after Thanksgiving anyway, so I probably wouldn’t have gone anywhere anyway. I helped my parents decorate yesterday and that was about it.

I’m glad that person didn’t say anything else to you about your size, although I think they owe you an apology. That had to have been a guy who said that because hopefully most women would be more sensitive, even ones like me who’ve never been pregnant. I think you’re beautiful so don’t let any jerk make you feel bad.

I’m running out of characters so I’ll just say have a great day off tomorrow! Take care of yourself and get plenty of rest!

Margie

Hey Dawn,
I tried to answer this in my last post but I ran out of characters! You’re thinking about virga, which is precipitation that evaporates before it hits the ground. I love that word! We’re certainly not getting virga today–it’s cold and rainy. I hope you stay warm and dry.

Margie

Hey everyone. No space for a tree for us. We just have way too much stuff. I did shop online for some literature stuff for the kids. It was either free or greatly reduced. I hate it when that happens (insert sarcasm here). Kyle is starting a literature unit on The Grinch today so that he’ll be all set for tomorrow night. One of the minibooks is comparing the cartoon to the book! (How cool is that…watching tv for school!)

It’s cold outside, otherwise nice.

Time for lunch! (510 characters used)

Had a great Thanksgiving here…Met a new member of the family…She will be 1 in a couple of weeks….

No tree…(tree and cats dont mix well) … ’sides…If I put it up…then I gotta take it down… I always found that a tad bit depressing

But I do have an Advent wreath…Candles with very elegant holiday shades….I do have a Sleigh that I will be on my mantle in a week or so and have something I will put on my door…

And my Misfits collection from “Rudolph” are out year round…I have a fondness for Misfits

Christmas CDs are out and a few already in the CD changer….

Shopping?….I tend not to Christmas shop too much…(family is just too big and if I do for a few I feel like I should do for all….and I simply dont have the budget for that…)

I prefer getting to getting and having a nice dinner with them if they are in town…More meaning for me than just getting someone a gift for the sake of giving them a gift….

I have come to understand my grandmother’s comments years ago when we asked if her what we could get her for Christmas…”Nothing. I have enough stuff”….When we when thru the attic after they were both gone we found alot of our gifts to them up there and still in the original packages…
And living in a small condo I have come to appreciate even more..there simply is no room for “stuff”…
That is why I prefer simply spending time with loved ones…I will remember that…Stuff just needs to be dusted or hung up..etc…

By the way, Janice, you look amazing today. I love the black outfit. I only wish I had such great maternity clothes. (Then I could have played in our church Christmas musical last year. I didn’t have anything to wear and I wouldn’t let my husband buy me something that I’d probably never wear again.)

Margie…

Safe travels….and I hope you get some solid sleep tonight and start feeling better….

Thanks for answering my question

JD,
Hope you can relax and enjoy your day off tomorrow. Any time you get the opportunity to kick back and put your feet up, do it.
MARGIE, have a safe trip home.
My favorite Christmas shows are “Miracle on 34th Street”(the original) and “A Charley Brown Christmas” JB

Hey Janice…

It’s a gloomy and rainy day here…rain is supposed to turn to snow later tonight or tomorrow..(seeing is believing)..

No tree yet..but like I told Margie yesterday..my trees keep getting smaller every year…This year who knows…it may be itty bitty.. No Xmas shopping yet..unless you count the big screen Tv I bought for myself..and I did go dry skin care shopping today..I bought lots of Oil of Olay products for this winter dryness I am experiencing along with my usual wrinkle repellents…

I watched the Polar Express the other night with my grandson, and I really enjoyed it. I like Tom Hanks in anything..even animated.

Have a nice Sunday afternoon…and enjoy your day off tomorrow
Deb (probably fixin to get sucked into the Evil Vortex again)

Mmmm…forgot to mention fav Christmas shows…
Let’s see….Charlie Brown (even back then Schultz saw the prevading commercialism in the culture)….Grinch (cartoon version) …That is about change of heart and subsequent redemption…an Old cartoon called “the night the animals talked”..”little drummer boy” (healing of a deeply wounded even angry soul)…White Christmas…Bishop’s Wife…Holiday Inn…M.on 34th…Polar Express..RRNose Reindeer…Frosty(that is just plain Old Fun!!)…
Let’s see…There is more I know….
I love the pilot foe the old Tv show the Waltons….the pilot was a Christmas movie….has to do with the fight and struggle of the journey to get back to family for Christmas…

Put it this way….I’m into symbolism….big time…if it’s a classic show loaded with symbolism ….well most likely Im gonna either like it or be drawn to it….
(White Christmas….No symbolism but New England and set right after WWII….Holiday Inn=New England…Specically CT..

Im sure I could find more…but that paints the idea of the canvas

Gotta add about Rudolph the R.nose Reindeer…The animated story literally premiered a couple of days before I was born so he and I grew up together…

Infact I do believe it was Nov 30th ‘64 that it premiered on CBS..

HAPPY B-DAY RUDY!!!

Ok…Im done with the nuttiness for today

Enjoy your day off Janice!!

Although I’m going to be away for ten days around Christmas, I was thrilled my roommate agreed to do the tree this year!

And we even have our place now to get it from: young Canadians from Montreal sell them for a cheaper price on 6th avenue. That’s where we went in the past years.
Hope to go there in the coming days…

(Dawn, I remember once, as a kid, my cat got the sudden idea to climb on top of the tree…which eventually fell on the floor!! Luckily for us it only happened one year – I presume the cat got scarier than us )

I also love to settle the Nativity Scene which I found last year after many weeks of intense research!

I watched yesterday Bell, Book and Candle with Jimmy Stewart and Kim Novak (and Jack Lemmon!).
I know, it’s not a typical Christmas movie although it does take place on a snowy Christmas Eve in Greenwich village.
In one scene, they exchange a kiss on the top of the Flat Iron Building over a snowy Madison Square Park!

For some reason my brother and I used to love that movie.
We loved the magic and how she could only walk barefoot…inside her African Art store while it was snowing outside!
and I guess the presence of the cat, Pyewacket, won us over

I want some snow now!

Guillaume

Guillaume…

Never heard of “Bell, Book and Candle” and I am a big Jimmy Stewart fan!!….Gonna have to check it out…

I have a Nativity set as well (Or parts of one…many of the pieces of it were from the one that we 3 kids grew up with as my mother split it many years ago)…But its made of breakable pieces and I know my cats would see the the pieces and decide they were toys and start to knock them around to see if they were alive….Have very limited “up high” places to put the breakables…

Hey Gang,

As long as we’re talking Nativity sets, I’ll tell you about mine. I do have a small one for inside my house that I set up each year. A few years ago I drove around looking at Christmas displays and I got disgusted with how few Nativity scenes there were, considering that’s what Christmas is all about. So, I found a CD with yard art patterns and I made myself a Nativity scene out of plywood (for the figures and stable roof) and 2×4’s (for the stable). Besides the main figures, it has a cow, donkey, two shepherds, and the three kings. I spent a fortune on paint to paint everyone in nice bright colors. I was so proud of myself because I used three kinds of saws and I didn’t cut off any body parts! All I got were a few splinters. I was planning on coming home from my parents early today to set it up but when I heard the weather forecast I didn’t bother. We got about a quarter of an inch of rain so far and we’ll probably get more.

I have to tell you what happened on my trip home this afternoon but I’ll do that in part two since I’m already over 1100 characters in this short post. So stay tuned for part two…

Margie

Margie….How incredibly cool is that…That you actually made yours…I would think it mean a bit extra something special since it’s your love and work and art ….thanks for sharing that

I learned a valuable lesson this afternoon on my way home & I want to share it with you so you don’t make the same mistake I did. Never assume people are going to yield when merging onto the highway, even if there are cars in the way! You’d think someone who was only doing around 50 mph would wait for the cars to go by before pulling in to the travel lane from the entrance ramp, especially since they weren’t at the end of the ramp yet. NOT!! Have you ever slammed on your brakes on wet pavement when going 60 mph? It’s not fun! Usually I’ll move over when I see people merging because I know how ignorant people are but today I had someone next to me. Maybe it was my head congestion from my cold that kept me from thinking straight, but I assumed he’d wait until it was safe. HA! I just thank God that I didn’t lose control of my car when I slammed on my brakes, but I did skid. I have to confess that although I’m a Christian, I didn’t think very Christ-like thoughts about that person! I did thank God for watching over me.

There was a lot more traffic today than Wed. & add to that rain & fog & it was such a lovely trip. For those of you who remember my picture of Sideling Hill (the notch cut out of the mtn.) I couldn’t see the notch until I drove through it with all the fog & low clouds. It was ugly but I’m glad I’m home! There were just too many cars with people driving too fast. I saw one accident in the other direction & was surprised I didn’t witness in my direction.

Margie

Margie..

I’m glad you are safe and sound!

Have a good evening

Margie….Glad you are home safe and sound even though Im sure you BP went up a bit…That sounded very frightening situation to be in…..Have a cup of yummy tea tonight….
Warm and peaceful thoughts to you

Hey Dawn,

I had so much fun making that Nativity! It took a long time to make but it was worth it. I should have added that the figures are about 2 feet high, roughly. I’ll e-mail a picture of it to you when I get it set up. I told Deb yesterday I’d e-mail her one, so I’ll make sure you get a picture too. I get a lot of compliments about it from people in the neighborhood and that makes me feel good.

I think I need to get something to eat. I had brunch over at my aunt’s house this morning but now I’m hungry. My leftover Chinese food is calling out to me!

I’m glad I don’t have to use shorthand for this post. I ran out of characters on my last post and had to edit it. I’d like to talk to whoever came up with the bright idea of a 1500 character limit!

Have a great evening!

Margie

Hey Deb and Dawn,

I’m so glad to be home! A hot cup of tea sounds good about now. I have some Chinese tea so I’ll have a cup with my Chinese food. I have a headache, which I think was travel-induced so I’ll take something after I get some food in my stomach. Thank you both for your kind words!

Margie

Well, one of my favorite Christmas movies has to be “A Christmas Story” because growing up as
a very young lad in the 70s and then the 80s as a teen was still very close to the experience that
Ralphie had in the 1950s. What a great movie – so many great scenes to talk about. I definitely
watched that with my kids last year and I think they’ll laugh even harder this year. Our other
favorite is Charlie Brown Christmas which we watched yet AGAIN last night. When Linus gets on
stage and tells us the real meaning of Christmas beyond the commercialism, he’s not only right,
but harkens back to a day when cartoons were not politically correct. Today they would have to
include every group’s holiday, even ones that were simply made up after the Charlie Brown
show was made and somehow these holidays pass for legitimate. I always go out of my way to
wish everyone a “Merry Christmas” and join the old codgers in Williamsburg who are sick of
“not offending” anyone by wishing someone Merry Christmas. When on God’s good earth did that
become “offensive????” Don’t get me started (I think I already did that!).

Left over turkey veggie soup is simmering on the stove, and my southwestern turkey soup will be
prepared on Tuesday night. A big loaf of French bread and a nice hot bowl of soup in the cold,
miserable weather. Good night to keep reading “The Hobbit” with my daughter. She loves Bilbo
and the dwarves.

“Happy holidays!”
Tony

Hi Tony. My oldest will be reading “The Hobbit” for school shortly. If she enjoys scrapbooking, Live and Learn Press has a lapbook that goes with the book.

Hi Margie. I’m glad you made it home safe and sound.

I’ll have my turkey veggie soup probably for lunch tomorrow. I need onion to be able to make it, and I’m not going to the store tonight.

Bell Book & Candle is a cute movie. Not much of a story – but fun to watch if you love Kim Novak and Jimmy Stewart and the comedies & style from that time.

Reminded me a bit of Breakfast at Tiffany, a classic I never get tired of watching.
(and I just realized a cat is also part of the plot!)

Back to Christmas (and Jimmy Stewart), isn’t “It’s A Wonderful Life” a great movie?!

I love my nativity scene…but the figurines are very small!
2 feet high figurines?
Oh waooooo!!! that sounds very impressive Margie!
Can’t wait to see your pictures!!

(and by the way I’m glad you made it home safe!)

Love the fact we have to hide the baby Jesus til the 24th at midnight. And at home, we only brought the Kings on January 6th as we also celebrate that day (the Epiphany) in France. Before, they have to be placed at distance with the camels (and get closer a little bit every day..at least that what we used to do with my brother!).
It’s almost like a story you get to direct – and be part of it.

Dawn you wrote about your granny’s comment:
“That is why I prefer simply spending time with loved ones…Stuff just needs to be dusted or hung up..”
That’s a very good point I learned too.

…this said, I admit my place is often packed of stuff!
Every weekend, my goal is to clean and clear…and every weekend I keep postponing!
But I did some progress yesterday (hurray!).

Guillaume

It is a very cold and windy afternoon/evening here in MS. I can’t believe the wind here this afternoon—gusting up to 40 mph probably. Wasn’t really expecting that!
I too am a big fan of Charlie Brown Christmas. Remember it so well from when I was a child (especially the Linus scene, Tony). Grandchildren love it now, so I get to enjoy it all over again.
It’s been a slow Sunday. First church this morning, then home for pulled pork sandwiches for lunch. #3 son (Ben) made brownies, so that was really quite good. Melanie, Katie and Carter had made it back in around 3 this morning from their trip to Charleston. (Thank you, God, for their safe return.) So we had all the sons, wives and grandchildren here for lunch. Then we settled down to watch the Colts play the Browns. Not much of a game–their defense won this one.
Margie—I think I’m getting a cold too, and my husband has a cold/cough. So we’re a really cheery couple to be around this evening—-not!. Thanks for the prayers for my mother-in-law. She’s better this afternoon. We didn’t go to the hospital since we’re coughing and sneezing, but did talk with her by phone. Would love to see a picture of your nativity scene. That is so cool that you made it yourself! I had been thinking about buying one for outside–but maybe I should re-think that and make one!
I like real CHRISTmas music instead of Ho Ho Ho type stuff. Prefer to celebrate the real reason for the season.
Gotta go—ran out of characters!
GWEN

Cool!!!!

That was 1500 on the nose.

HA!!!!!

My Uncle Bob drove down from Ojai to see my roommate and me today. Uncle Bob was concerned about her recovery after she broke her hip. He was glad to see that Nurse George has been doing a good job. His birthday is on Friday, Dec. 5th. He’ll be 82 years old.

I showed him a photo of him taken in Lake Michigan in the summer of 1934 when he was only seven. He’s standing on a pylon in Lake Michigan along the Outer Drive in Chicago. My mother took the photo. All of the rolls of film she took in 1933 and 1934 say “Century of Progress” because that was the name of the World’s Fair being held in Chicago.

The photo is in black-and-white. When he was a boy and until he was in his mid-20’s, Uncle Bob had wavy red hair and freckles. During the late 1930’s and early 1940’s, he resembled Mickey Rooney. When he was in his mid-20’s, Uncle Bob began losing his hair, something that is common among men on my mother’s side of our family. I still have almost all of my hair.

Uncle Bob enlisted in the Navy in 1943 on his 17th birthday. His father had to OK Uncle Bob’s enlistment — and did so. Uncle Bob spent most of World War Two on the U.S.S. Bennington in the Pacific.

Recently, I asked him, “What was the best day you had while you were in the Navy?”

Without blinking an eye, Uncle Bob said, “The day we sailed into Tokyo Bay.”

George Spink
Los Angeles

What isint a favorite of mine Christmas wise. I still can close my eyes and hear the beginning of the CBS Special Presentation music. Those of you who grew up in the 70’s and 80’s know the one I’m talking about I bet it was before every Charlie Brown Muppets Garfield and Bugs Bunny special. I still watch those to this day. My Father owned and operated Shell Gas Stations when I was growing up and one Christmas they had the original 1965 version of Charlie Brown Christmas I still have that. But ah movie wise!!!!!

Can’t go wrong with the original It’s A Wonderful Life, Tony mentioned my favorite growing up I was 9 when A Christmas Story came onto HBO and Showtime and became an instant classic. It was actually set in 1940’s Indiana but filmed in Ontario home province of our humble blog moderator. although the house that was used in that movie is still around in Cleveland I read somewhere online where they do give tours of that house. Of course if I want a quick laugh National Lampoons Christmas Vacation and Home Alone does wonders too.