Bittersweet Present - Coffee with Al

December 30th Tuesday - Snow flurries - Cold

The picture above shows a table runner that my older daughter, Susie made me for Christmas.  It by its self is special, but the story behind it makes it very special.

When my husband died Susie asked me if she could have all of his shirts that were cotton, so she, Krista and I went through all of Al's shirts and sorted them out for her.  Al loved to shop and he liked bright colors and stylish clothing; therefore, he had a lot of shirts and a variety of colors.  Susie took them home in a large garbage bag and put them in her attic.  I do think she used a couple of them to make Krista a quilt when she had cancer, but other than that they had remained in the attic.

Imagine my surprise when I opened my Christmas present and saw a fabric label that read "Coffee with Al".  That is what she named my table runner. What a flow of memories that came back to me as I stared at the runner.  It was perfect timing for some reason this Christmas season had been very difficult this year and the runner and quilt were very comforting.  I placed the quilt on a chair in the kitchen.

Isn't it pretty?

She does beautiful work.  I will post some of her other work later in the week.  This is a very appropriate place for the "shirts" to hang, as Al always sat in a chair in the kitchen when I came home from work and chatted with me about our day while I finished up dinner.  Those were special times.

Christmas Gifts

December 29th - Monday - Cloudy 30 degrees

Christmas is over and I have our tree down and the inside decorations back into the closet for another year.  I still have all of the outside decorations up yet and will keep them up until after the New Year.  I am always anxious to get my house settled back into a routine after the holidays and this year I was especially anxious.  I have always wanted a Kitchen Aid mixer, but didn't want to spend the money on one.  After my two shoulder surgeries, I have not been able to stir dough and Lou has very graciously accomplished that chore for me; however, he purchased this little gal for me for Christmas and let me tell you, she can stir up anything that I want to stir and can do with out any fuss or mess and that counts for a lot for me.  I made a pecan pie pretty quick with her help.

Pecan pie before it went into the oven.

My next project is going to be homemade bread and cinnamon rolls.  This may not be good for our

waist lines, but thankfully Maci needs to be walked frequently!!

Meet Maci

December 21st - Sunday 28 degrees

This is our new addition is our family.  We picked up our new rescue Yorkie yesterday from her foster family in Frederick, Maryland.  What a delight she is,  God's timing was perfect once again, it was exactly 15 years to the day that I signed the papers for my last Yorkie, Estee.  This little gal, was a puppy mill rescue from the State of Ohio and she will be a challenge to train, but Lou and I are up to the challenge and will enjoy every minute of it.  Love, patience and persistence can go a long ways in training a dog and we are willing to do that.  Her foster family have done so much for her in the few short months that they had her.  They deserve so much credit and I hope to stay in contact with Cindy.  I don't know that I could do what she did and then give her away.

She was a delight t o ride home.  We stopped at Brion and Janet's home on the way home, to give all of us a rest and Maci was able to walk around in their spacious yard and she made her self at home in their beautiful home and then she slept the rest of the three hour trip home.  We stopped in Williamsport for gas and she got out and went potty and back in her bed on my lap and back to sleep.

Her b ed at home in the living room

She was very content to rest in her b ed while we watched a movie on television, then we had to have a run outside before going to bed in a different bed in the bedroom last night, she slept well last night until about 7:30 this morning and then outside.  I was concerned about leaving her while we went to church, so finally decided to put her in the guest bathroom with her bed and a pee pad, she was fine, so accidents when we got back.

We have yet to hear her bark.  I had her outside when my brother put his cows out this morning and she stopped dead in her tracks, but she didn't bark, she just watched them.  The turkeys were all out this afternoon and she once again, watched them and didn't bark then either.  She is a very calm dog and so easy to groom and dress.  Am so looking forward to many years of loving her.

She likes Mike Hucklebee, so she and Lou will get along!!

Winter Has Arrived in Northern Pennsylvania

December 12th  - Friday 27 degrees

We thought we had escaped the storm that was forecasted for our area; however, we woke up to eight inches of white fluffy snow yesterday morning.  My boots aren't that tall, so Lou shoveled me a little path as he went to the garage to get the snow blower out.  He did the driveway with the blower and I did the decks, sidewalks and the areas that he couldn't reach with the blower.  I really enjoy the snow and this is the first year in two years that I have been able to shovel the light snow, I had to come in twice to get warm and this year I used toe warmers on the feet and that worked pretty good.

Lou was supposed to meet his hunting buddies at 8:00 to go deer hunting, but we didn't get finished until 10:30, and by the time he got there they were gone and he couldn't find them, so he ended up shoveling his driveway at the homestead, as the man that usually plows it never showed up and he knew that Preston would be coming late Thursday night to stay the rest of the week to hunt, so he was really pooped last night.

I spent the afternoon at Krista house making Christmas cookies with she and Michelle.  It was a really nice afternoon, time to chat with everyone and catch up on their lives in their new house.

This gives you an idea of what Krista's kitchen is like.

Krista had her cookies all stirred up and refrigerated when I got there, so it made it a quick process.  Actually she did most of the work, Michelle made the frosting and she and frosted the ones that needed to be done.

This is a picture of their house.

I took this picture a couple days after they moved in,  There is a creek way behind the house, and a beautiful view from the lovely back deck, a potting shed on the left side of the house.  It is a darling home and they feel so very fortunate to be there.  Moving was very stressful for all and one that no one wants to repeat soon.  Where do you get all of "stuff" from??

I am in the process of adopting a Yorkie and it just can't happen quick enough.  I am so anxious, but it is a long process.  I am going through a Pennsylvania organization and they have been very nice to work with and very thorough which speaks volumes for the Yorkies and that is what one would wish.  I didn't think I wanted to go through potty training again, although Estee was very easy and I think when you use a crate and are at home with your pet it is much easier.

I have my Christmas decorations all up inside and out, although I didn't put a lot outside.  I was delighted with the table runner that Susie made me for my birthday last year.  I don't know how she picked colors for Christmas and made sure that they would match my dinnerware so well, she did a perfect job.

Isn't it pretty?

I have to post a picture of the visitors we have every afternoon, I think it is amazing.  They come right up to the barn, but now that we have the snow, I don't know what they will do.  I can go outside and they stay right there.   They were there even during turkey season, and I didn't have the heart to shoot, I just think they are beautiful.

I took this through the window the first time I saw them.