seeing Santa and putting up the Tree!

The sun came out and it was a bit on the nippy side but compared to previous temps, today felt like a heat wave!  I got up and got around and my sister in law picked me up and went up to the park to see Santa!  Hey I’ve been a good girl and all good girls get to sit on Santa’s lap right? 

There was already a line waiting to see the famous guy and his lovely wife.  Of course we waited patiently .. well as patient as kids can be ..

Colton who is my brother’s great grandson (his mother was killed in a car wreck when he was a baby) was first to see the big fella

then his aunt whom we all call Lady Bug was next … see I told you .. big girls do sit on Santa’s lap if their good girls  

after seeing santa it was time to walk around and see all the neat stuff!  I couldn’t resist a few things but I have to keep quiet as they are Christmas gifts .. hmmm

all my dad’s sister’s but one Aunt Rosie was holding down a seat for me and so while my sister in law chased her very energetic grandson I sat and visited and listened to the great Christmas music and listened closely to see if I had a winning number.

as you can see we were all bundled up .. in fact see the color hats, they sold them here at and several of my aunt’s were taker’s ..  it really wasn’t that warm  .. not like it is in Miami!! Once the sun started going down it was getting cold, but it was a great day to spend time with family. 

Once the grand kids arrived it was time to get started on putting up our Christmas tree!  They have been so excited about doing it.  This is their first year of getting to do this family tradition with their grand parents!

 

Once Hailey had the tree the way she wanted it, it was time to let little brother join in on the fun of decorating. 

there were so many ornaments since I thought I lost mine and bought new ones and then found the old ones.  this poor tree is loaded and here is the final results!!

I love it!!  I’m so thrilled I decided to purchase a white tree this year and going with Red and Silver with a tent of green here and there was great!  Nice job my precious and guess what … Grammy never moved one ornament or anything like I used to do with my kids (back in the days, my tree had to be just perfect and nothing out of place) not this year .. this is my grand kids tree.

Black Friday!

It was an up early to rise and get going .. things to do today.  First on the list was to get the grand kids up, feed and ready to go and we were out the door about 8.15 AM.  It’s their day to have Thanksgiving with their mom (their dad left for work already).  Okay!  I guess compared to most Black Friday shoppers that isn’t early but for me .. that is early to get moving at the time of the day!  For what I wanted it was early enough to get a couple good deals!!    I wanted a vacuum they had at Wal-mart and I figured they wouldn’t sell out real early on those.  I was right and next on the list was a Christmas tree and ornaments.  After lots of searching I finally decided what I wanted .. NO peeking!  Your going to have to wait and see .. Well Okay I will give you a sneak peak of a few things ..

After too much shopping I was hungry so we headed over to have my favorite food!  Yep .. if you guessed Chinese you are the winner.  It was a great relaxing meal and the first time I have eaten out in several weeks!  Yes, it’s true I’ve been staying home and cooking!  I know .. I never cook right??  Well with this cold weather it’s just been too cold and yucky for me to get out! 

On the way home, stopped by the home on wheels and picked up a few things I had on my list I needed and next was to storage to see if I could find my Christmas ornaments from when the kids were little since my wonderful son Tyson brought me practically every Christmas decoration I owned except for the one thing i requested! After lots of searching and determination, I was finally one happy camper when i found them! I’m looking forward to the family putting up the Christmas tree tomorrow night! It used to be one of my favorite things to do for the holiday!!  Oh just wait until you see what I decided to do this year .. oops did I mention that again?  Sorry your going to have to stay tuned to find out more :))

I have to admit, I just couldn’t wait to look through my old decorations and ended up sorting them and setting them out on the desk for when the grand kids get here.  Yes It was late and I'm exhausted and my back and legs are killing me!  The rest of the evening was spent relaxing enjoying the Christmas shows on Hallmark. I’m starting to get into the Christmas mood

Happy Thanksgiving

The sun came out and it wasn’t my desired temp but compared to the cold, it actually feels like a warm up with low 40’s!

It’s our son’s year to have the grand kids for Thanksgiving and so we spent the day enjoying family and eating way to much.  I didn’t cook this year as we went to my mother in laws house to celebrate with her.

Later in the evening we came home and spent the rest of the evening just enjoying spending time as a family.  Papa and Toby played cards while Daddy and Hailey laid in bed relaxing playing candy crush.

It was a great day of enjoying family and being thankful for all that we do have.  Before we knew it .. time came to get the gkids bathed and ready for bed and then it was time for this exhausted Grammy to retire to her bed.

From our family to yours …

Hope you all had a great day .. thanks for stopping by

oh the weather is frightful!

Me O My it’s been one very cold weekend!  The temp’s have been low 30’s to high 20’s and in teens at night .. can you say brrrr!!  I truly believe I have went insane to agree to stay in Illinois for the holiday’s!!  Spending the holiday’s with family is great BUT …. It sure didn’t have to get this cold already!!  Mr. Winter you may go away and come back another time.

Saturday I spent the entire day curled up trying to stay warm … my body does not like this weather at all!! 

Sunday morning the grand daughter wanted to come over .. even though it’s her mom’s weekend she wanted to come see Grammy   So we spent the afternoon baking cookies and brownies.  I do enjoy spending time with my precious girl.

Around 7 pm it was time for the grand daughter to go home to her mom’s and I spent the rest of the evening curled up in front of the stove trying to stay warm while watching a Hallmark Christmas movie.  Hope your all staying warm where ever you are. 

Bad News and Decisions!

It’s still been cold and it’s not looking any better for the next week .. in fact their talking high of 30 tomorrow and a low 11 at night, all next week is high low 40’s.  Yep .. winter is here.  Dinner tonight was some home made Turkey veggie soup and it sure did hit the spot on a cold winter day!

One thing about it, I’m nice and warm inside the comfort of home (I’m in my stick home for the winter) which is a good thing as going up and down stairs is not a good thing for me with my knees.  No stairs and there is even a handicap walk to get into the house.  I’ve really enjoyed being in my dad’s home.  The dogs seem to have settled into their new environment.  Family stops by to visit with me and I’m getting to spend lot’s of time with the grand kids

I finally broke down and went to the doctor and had a few test done on my knees and sure enough I have been scheduled to see an Orthopedic surgeon.  Between my neck, low back and knees.  I haven’t been doing much of anything but just resting.  My knees hurt the worst when I try to lay down which makes it difficult as when my low back is bothering me, laying down is the only relief I get from it.  I’m in the worst of 2 choices.  Sitting up which helps the knees but hurts the back or laying down to relieve the back but makes the knees hurt worse! 

I can not get in to the surgeon for 2 months!  Are you kidding me?  Ughhh the life of health problems!  I have some decisions to make about what I’m going to do regarding my health.  Stay here and take care of my health issues this winter or pack up after the holiday’s and head to warmer climate and continue to deal with my health issues until returning in the spring?  I’ve decided for now, to just enjoy the holiday’s with family.  It’s been a long time since I’ve been home with my family for both holiday’s!

I guess like everything in life you take the good with the bad.  The cold weather is very hard on my body but I sure do enjoy spending time with family

Can you say “BRRRRRR”

Wow it sure did get cold last night!  When I woke up around 8 am it was 17 degrees outside!  Ekkkkk …  good thing it’s going to be another day of hibernating like a bear! 

It’s only going to be in the low 30’s for the high today .. can you say brrrrrr .. another great day to have another crock pot dinner.  So I put on a crock pot full of beans to cook.  Can you say mmmm on a cold winter night .. corn bread and beans.

My back is doing a bit better but I’m still not up to walking a marathon or anything else.  My neck is still stiff and looking up is impossible.  So what have I been doing other then laying in bed relaxing your wondering?  Well, let’s see … I’ve been doin them there dishes, since I’ve been doing crock pot meals I have dishes .. can you say yuck!!! 

Then I curl up in my recliner and watch some good TV Land .. remember them Ole Andy Griffith shows .. Yep that is what I’ve been watching on the tube.  Of course in between I get on my computer and surf through the blogs I follow daily to see what fun everyone is having. 

Later in the afternoon I had to come out of hibernation and go get the grand son as he is spending the night tonight.  His sister has to go to the hospital for some sleeping test.  So it was a fun filled evening being entertained by the grand son and before we knew it, it was time to get ready to head to bed. 

Me O My it’s COLD Outside

I woke up to a very frosty cold morning.  During the night we got  a dusting of snow and the temperature was 22 degrees!  The poor dogs did not really want to venture outside to do their business.  It’s suppose to get even colder tonight!  Can you say brrr I do believe Mr. Winter has arrived way to soon!

I’ve been in my stick home for a week now and I have adjusted pretty good.  Although I have to admit most of my time here has been spent curled up in bed due to being down in my back.  Since the weather and my back have been so yucky I have not eaten out one time!  Instead it’s been crock pot meals mostly.  Tonight’s dinner was my version of Hobo stew ( pork steaks stewed in crock pot from last night) I kept the broth and left over p. steaks and put them in the crock pot and added some carrots, onions, later I added some potatoes and gravy mix and while I was resting dinner was cooking.  It turned out great and the best part there is left overs for lunch tomorrow! 

Here is my fire place on a cold winter night .. actually it’s a comfort glow wall heater but it keeps the living room nice and comfy just the way I like it.  Plus it gives you the same warm, cozy feeling the fire place does.  The dogs and I are all snuggled up next to the heater enjoying the warmth it gives us.  It may be freezing outside but it’s nice and comfy inside (may not be after I get the gas bill) but for now .. were comfy!!

7.30 pm and look at the temperature here .. look what their saying the low is!!  Oh it’s going to be another cold night and day tomorrow .. as you can see I will be hibernating with the bears until it warms up. 

To all those who Served

Today is a day of remembrance.  I would like to say thank you all those who have served our great nation.  To all the men and women who died, served and are still serving .. Thank you …

I’m still down in my back and I really do not have much to post about.  All I’ve been doing is taking pain pills and muscle relaxers and sleeping.  We had a beautiful weekend and I would have loved to have been outside but instead I was laid up bed.  It’s horrible to have a bad back but mine seems to be upper and lower both.  You never know when it’s going to kick in and when it does, it kicks in big time!  I basically can do absolutely nothing because the pain takes over and all I can do is lay in bed on heating pads and take medication like it’s candy. 

When my back decides to take over, sitting, standing, walking is almost impossible.  Unfortunately there is nothing surgery or anything else can do for my back.  It’s one of those things I just have to deal with.  The only thing I can do is deal with it and just let time and rest make it better.  It’s been my life now for 17 yrs!   Even though I’ve been dealing with this for years, doesn’t mean it gets any easier and back pain does interrupt your life big time. 

All I can do I be thankful that I do have my good days and deal with the bad days the best that I can.  It’s a time to be thankful that I woke up to enjoy another day on this planet.  Life could be worse. 

down in the back

We’ve had a couple cold nights and Mr. Frost has arrived.  Once again I’m down in my neck and back.  I can barely turn my head.  I think I over did it yesterday.  I got a head ache last night and I’ve had it all day today.   I made some home made noodles for the grand kids and with this cold air.  It wasn’t a good mixture.

 

I got unlimited internet installed today and I’m so happy ..I can do lots of surfing and not have to worry about watching my data going over.  Oh it’s been along time since I’ve had that.  Nothing really going on with me, since I’m not feeling well.

Moved to the stick home

This morning was spent packing up anything I could think of that I would need from the home on wheels and finally there was no more room so anything else I may need will have to be gotten later.  Finally around noon it was time to load the dogs and hit the road.  The dogs were excited to being able to get to go for a ride, they miss traveling. 

Wasn’t on the road long when the rain started .. ughh I was hoping to get gone before the rain arrived.  Luckily it wasn’t a heavy rain.  After getting unloaded it was time to head to the dreaded laundry mat to wash my feather bed I got out of storage.  It was dusty and need of a bath big time.

After being at the laundry mat a couple of hours, I finally had it washed and dried.  Although I like to froze to death while being there.  Some guy decided to open the door and leave it open and it’s getting colder outside.  Ughhh it’s going to be a long night with the rain, cold and this Ole back.

Once I got back home, I put away some of the stuff and then it was time to head to bed for some much needed rest. 

Time Change

Sunday the time fell back and we gained an hour.  I am not a big fan of the time falling backwards as it makes the day go longer.  It takes me awhile to adjusted to the new time.  In fact I went to bed around 6.30 PM new time and fell asleep and slept until around 4 AM!  I woke up several times and just rolled over and went back to sleep.

Today was spent running around and doing some errands in Litchfield.  I did run onto a good deal today, turkey for .88 cents a lb, so I purchased one brought it home and thawed it out in some water.  Now I have my roaster filled with a turkey that will make several meals for us.  Yes, I know Turkey day is still several weeks away but hey how could I pass up a good deal and lots of left overs. 

It’s been a bit on the windy side and it’s been a chilly day.  So the rest of the day was spent curled up trying to stay warm. 

1st Day of November!

It’s the first day of November.  I had several things planned for today but they were all changed due to some unpreventable circumstances.  I got the call that they would be shutting the water off at noon and it would not be coming back on until next spring!  I had several loads of laundry I wanted to get done, so I started the task of getting my laundry going.  Since I needed to do several loads, I hung them outside to dry on my make shift clothes line.  Luckily for me the wind was blowing and the sun was coming out.  So they dried nicely.

In between doing laundry we topped off our fresh water tank and filled up our 35 gal trash container we used to haul water in last winter and I dug out all my pitchers and filled them up.  Next on the list was to do a good cleaning on the black tank.  After all that was finished it wasn’t long and it was time for lunch.  I went up and had lunch with friends and then I came home and took a nap since I had to get up early to get things done.  It’s hard to believe summer has gone by so fast.  The campground is officially on winter amenities which means you have electric and sewer only, there is no water and the bath/wash houses are all closed up now.  There is one couple in the park that will be spending the winter here all winter long and I do not envy them as carrying water got very old for us last year!  When the wind Is blowing or snow is falling and your out there trying to fill your fresh water tank is no fun at all!  I didn’t mind having to do that when we where in Quartzsite as the temps were much warmer, but when it’s cold and your outside doing it, it just plain stinks!!

The grand kids arrived around 6 PM and we enjoyed them, our friend Wanda and Jim showed up at their camper for one last weekend and Jim built a fire.  We sat around it and visited until it the fire died down and it was time to retire inside as it was getting cooler.  Once inside it was time to get the grands ready for bed so we can all be rested up for a fun filled day.  This will be the grand kids last weekend here in our home on wheels.

We are not sure when our departure date will be for sure as we are waiting for a package to arrive.  Once that arrives it will be time to winterize our home on wheels and move into the stick home.  We are still trying to decide if we will be leaving our home on wheels here at the campground and come over once in awhile and do some dry camping or if we will park it in our stick home yard.  That is still in the air.

Hope you enjoyed your first day of November.