2017 Year End Summary

2017 Family and Friends and Miscellaneous

January - Many doctor visits for my leg injury and complications.

February - Too much snow. Mister had to work hard.

March - Way more snow. Township snow plow dug up front yard very badly. Visited brother and watched him making maple syrup. Our good beach friend Max died.

April - Great Granddaughter #8 was baptized. My former employer and our good friend Alvin died. 

May - Flower planting time. Trips to Farm Produce Market. Nephew(44) broke foot badly. 

June - Grandson’s (28) lymphoid leukemia in remission.

July - Two Granddaughters who we haven’t seen for about 40 years visited. Son (59) visited in newly acquired red Corvette. Grandson (28) won Lake Community Assn. fishing derby.

August - Met new lake neighbor. My Monarch butterflies hatched from chrysalis and flew away. Family friends’ youngest son married in Va.

September - Three trees on beachfront cut down.

October - Daughter’s aged Bulldog “Charlie” died. Grandson (15) won $ for big bass caught. Many trips to farm orchard for apples and cider.

November - Family friends whose daughter married last June became new grandparents of baby boy. Niece (45) got married.

December - Cousin Jean (87) had stroke. Brother has new health issue. Dear friend had shoulder replacement and doing well. Another friend’s husband had pancreas surgery and recovering rather well.

ME-Turned 81. Slowing down while still moving forward. Taking pictures mostly from golf car riding around home area. Enjoying golf car. Carpal tunnel syndrome and trigger fingers in left hand very annoying. Got very excited to finally find my vintage hand garden tool after putting it away for safe keeping and couldn't find it. The mister had piled ropes on top of it. Yea!

HE-Turned 82. More forgetful but able to complete tasks and chores except for lawn mowing. Started using cane sporadically for stability. Winter rough with his COPD.

New Stuff

• EZ Go Golf Cart (July) and cover (October)

• Beautiful Snow Globe with Cardinal (gift)

Repairs (Professionally Accomplished)

• Three trees on beachfront cut down and removed.

• Interior beams washed and dusted.

Baked/Cooked…..Highlights

Jan.

Red Velvet Bundt Cake

White Chip Macadamia Nut Cookies

Buttery Almond Skillet Cake

Coconut Custard Pie

Homemade Chicken noodle Soup with Vegetables

Pickled Red Beets and Eggs

Pumpkin Pie

Feb.

Pickled Red Beets and Eggs

Buttery Almond Skillet Cake

Bran Nut and Raisin Bread

Peach Freezer Jam Crescent Rolls

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Mar.

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Chipotle Corn Muffins

Lemon Bundt Cake with Lemon Icing

Strawberry Shortcake

Apr.

Buttery Almond Skillet Cake

Lemon Pudding Cake and Lemon Icing

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Meatloaf with Stove Top Stuffing Incorporated

May

Strawberry Jello Cake with Strawberry Icing

Peach Cobbler

Rhubarb Pudding

Jun.

Strawberry EVERYTHING!

Banana Bread

Salmon Casserole

Peanut Butter Cookies

Jul.

Zucchini Supreme

Louisiana Bar-B-Que Sauce

Peach Cobbler

Peach Crisp

Aug.

Peach Pie

Peach Leather Rollups

Dehydrated Garden Tomatoes

Dehydrated Peach Slices and Quarters

Peach Pie #2

Sept.

Dehydrated  Apples

Apple Crisp

Apple Cobbler

Oct.

Apple Blondies

Applesauce (2 batches)

One Bowl Applecake

Apple Pie

Pumpkin Pie

Nov.

Apple Sauce Batch 3

Acorn Squash Pie

Spinach and Chicken Quiche

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Cole Slaw

Dec.

Deviled Eggs (20)

Pumpkin Pie

Crafts…..

Applehead Angie

Paper Folded Trees

Pinecone Mobile

Two Knitted Hats with Pom Poms

Photomanipulations

Now all of my various directories and calendars will be updated for the year 2018 and I start all over.

By the way, death is part of living in my mind. It is just another path. We leave the old and anticipate the new every year, don’t we? It doesn’t mean that we don’t remember but we do move onward.

“Count your blessings instead of your crosses.

Count your gains instead of your losses.

Count your joys instead of your woes.

Count your friends instead of your foes.

Count your smiles instead of your tears.

Count your courage instead of your fears.

Count your full times instead of your lean.

Count your kind deeds instead of your mean.

Count your health instead of your wealth.

Love your neighbor as much as yourself.”

Happy New Year!

Kindness and acceptance for all.

Out with the old....

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One Year Ago Today

I'm being extra careful this year! This injury on my left shin took a VERY long time to heal with all kinds of side effects.

Here is the link to the story on the day it happened. This is a reminder to myself mainly to be more careful.  DANG! 

The entire healing process link: 

Beginning to Healed

Winter Day

The sun is shining brightly. The lake is completely frozen. There are no ice fishermen in sight. The wind is blowing. Two joggers went by. Crazy fools! I see feral cat prints in the snow. I looked out the kitchen and dining room windows as I checked e-mail and caught a movement on the snow by the shed. She was all alone under the hemlock tree.  I couldn't find her mate anywhere. I wonder if her feet were cold. It's a good thing the windows are clean.

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Christmas Craft

These are called "Christmas Spiders." A lady in Tennessee makes glass beaded spiders, jewelry and other things. I ordered 9 plus a hanging hummingbird that is over our table. It was a difficult selection process as there were so many different ones.  I kept one and gave the others away. The poem that goes with them is one I had never heard so I enclosed it with each gifted spider. 

Can you guess which one I kept for myself?

Here is my hummingbird. It hangs over the table and sparkles when the sun hits it.

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Yellow - My Color for the Day...

Progressive Greeting by hand - no internet apps. used.     Just Photo and Preview programs that came on my 2013 Apple notebook. Greetings to all of our friends and family! 

AND...

Eggs go with ham, don't they?

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Looking Back at Christmas

Things I remember about Christmas when I was a very young child; things I don’t remember as well. It was the 1940’s.

The real tree stood out on the front porch until Christmas Eve. It was a Balsam with lots of space between the branches. Christmas music was played on the old phonograph. It was mostly heavy classical music and the records were hard 12 inch discs. They were called 78’s.  Mainly I remember that we, meaning my sisters, brother and I weren’t allowed downstairs from our bedrooms before our father turned on the Christmas tree lights. We were supposed to stay on the hall landing until called, but sometimes we sled down a stair or two and peeked through the railing supports until Dad said, “OK, READY!” He had even started up the electric Lionel train which circled around the base of the tree.  We never ever saw the tree decorated or any gift boxes before Christmas morning.

My brother and I remember few gifts but he remembers high quality plaid shirts and I remember a lovely doll with a yellow dress and leather shoes. These were from our mother’s dearest friend who we called Aunt Jeanette.  He remembers a green wagon and I remember my little pair of skis and his TinkerToys. We both loved the contents found in our stockings which hung on a cardboard imitation fireplace. Inside the bulging stockings he always found a block of Velveeta cheese and I always found a can of sweetened condensed milk! We could gorge ourselves on our individual favorite treats this one time of the year. There were water paints, crayons and embroidery kits in my stocking and small toys in his, plus a candy cane.

The bulbs on the light string were old and the paint was peeling off. These bulbs had tips on their ends and the wire was a double one with cloth covering. There were also some bulbs on another string that were animals and birds. In later years there were some that looked like candles and started bubbling when turned on. 

I have very little recollection of any tree decorations except for the tinsel which was always either falling off or the cat pulled off. If a ball fell, it shattered into hundreds of sharp shards. All paper wrapping was carefully folded and saved to be reused the next year; ribbons too if they were fabric. 

What else do we remember? Not much. New handmade mittens, and hair barrettes. Before Christmas we attended a party at the firehouse and were given a mesh red stocking with a paper cuff stapled to the top edge that was filled with candy. Church music was sung with joy and robust vocals. 

I don’t remember baking or decorating cookies, but do remember the plum pudding that was placed on the dinner table and then lit with a match. It must have had brandy poured over it and when the fire went out, it was served with “hard sauce” a sugary spread. When it was brought out the feeling was that it was a ceremony. 

Later in the week, it was always enjoyable for me to visit a girlfriend who lived down the street to see what she received. Her grandmother was German and the gifts were very special. In fact I was a little envious but happy at the same time to know someone who received different and interesting presents. She shared nicely. 

There are more memories but they are deeply buried and I just can't get them to the surface today. After I post this they will probably be recalled. Oh well..... 

Feeling Artistic

One of my blogger friends showed a picture he took around 2005 and it struck me as a possibility for one of my photomanipulations. He took this photo of a reflection of trees in the water.

SO......

My interpretation that I call "Visions"

Then I went off tilt!

Ok back to normal...

Maybe....

I better get off this train before it crashes!

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The Gift

This summer two adult granddaughters from New York came for a visit for the first time and I had never seen them grown up. They are lovely adult ladies and we had a grand time. They are daughters of my deceased son and I only ever had seen them when they were infants. Between them they have six grown children and one has a grandson.

As we spent most of our time on the front porch they must have noticed that I have an affinity for cardinals that I never even realized! There is a large wooden cardinal whirligig hanging over the far end of the porch that I bought from a craftsman at the campground in SC about fifteen years ago. He has weathered many storms and is well. There is a 1974 Avon plate hanging over my dining room window that I gave my mother one Christmas and there is a hand made and hand painted one attached to our front door that a son made for her. I have a pewter one hanging on my ceramic tree that a daughter gave me one Christmas. There are several living around the property flying in and out of the bushes on the driveway side of the cabin.

My favorite color is bright red. The interior curtains, tablecloth, pot holders, and so many other things that are here are bright red, which is an energizing color for me.  Something new has been added to my Christmas display.

At Christmastime red is prevalent and such a warm color. The red cardinal snow globe makes me feel very happy. The snow globe gift from my granddaughters that arrived contains a red crested cardinal perched on a woodland branch. When shaken, white sparkly flakes float around the bird slowly and fall to the bottom. This four inch globe has a black base and is just a wonderful creation, being so clear and it feels nice to handle. I have always wanted a crystal ball and now I have one.

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Cold Enough

Our grandson is an avid fisherman and caught this largemouth bass on a freshwater lake that wasn't yet frozen, but he was sure dressed warm enough to have had an ice fishing experience. Froze his face off!

The below image is his original perch photo made into my creations. It was posing for this picture on a snow covered deck at lakeside.

 First 

 Final-It's what I saw!

Soon there will be ice fishermen on our lake here and they will be very successful as they always are. It's cold enough.

 Please click on image to feel the Brrrrrrrrr!

It is Here!

Old Man WINTER arrived with a bang! Not much snow is covering the ground, but the cold and the blustery winds slipped in overnight. The cinder truck just drove by.  It was 10° when we crawled out of warm beds and is still under 20° at noon.  We intended to go to the laundromat this morning but changed plans. A few more items in the baskets won't make much of a different in load sizes. The Mister helps as it is difficult for me to carry the baskets.

For an unknown reason, I have no desire to bake anything. My knitting projects are finished for the moment. What can I get into now???? The Christmas cards are sent - some via e-mail, others via snail mail. The gifts to family were enclosed. A few gifts to friends were sent and received. I think I just might step outdoors and clean out the cobwebs that are lurking under my hair. I'll have a short conversation with James. Then perhaps I will be motivated to do something productive! I am ready to keep warm.

Please click on image to see my warm and pretty socks!

Merry Christmas to ALL

My brother created these with glass. I hang them in my kitchen windows during the Christmas season. They are really beautiful!

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I gave one to a granddaughter and one hanger came unattached and it broke, so now I only have five. I'll ask him if he has any more. I hope so!